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iNPlAM HISTORICAL

RECO!

PROCEEDINGS VOLUME XXVU

NAGPUR

THlfiTX® IN INDIA DI 'fHE MANAGER OCrVI, OT
INDIA PRESS, NEW DELHI AND PtTBLISHED BY
the manager of publications DELHI 1950

78552 ,

INDIAN BISTORICAI
^CORDS COMMIS-
> 27 . ( 1950 ),
unes of

CONTENTS

PACtBS

1—12

Charles Desvoeux at Achin 1772-73
By S. N. Das Gupta.

The Correspondence of Modave . .

By S. P. Sen.

A French ^ --

By R

Fateh Na i Cl.

„ ^A.TA<?TF^'

By Sita Ram Koim.

A Tiruchirapalli Grant of Vi jay a Ranga Chokkanatha of ...
Madhurai

By K. R. Venkataraman.

JN'otes on Communications in the Early Nineteenth
Century

By Arun Kumar Das Gupta.

•Gangadhar Shastri

By Kalikinkar Datta.

A Fresh Patta of the time of the last Chauhan Ruler
of Sarnbalpur-Atharagarh

By L. P. Pandeya.

Danger to Jhansi in 1774-75
By T. S. Shejwalkar.

•Oudh and the Question of Salt Tax in 1367
By Nandlal Chatterji.

Note on Some Unpublished Letters of 'William Smyth
(1658—1664)

By S. Natarajan.

The Recorder’s Court at Madras (1798 — 1801) and
Some ot its Findings

By C. S. Srinivasachari.

Boundary Disputes Between the British and
Mayuibhanj in the 18th Century

By Tarit Kumar Mukherji.

Visual Telegraph, Calcutta to Chunar, 1816 — 28

By R. H. Phillimore.

13—21

Oi> OK

35—37

38—46

47— 8S

49—33

54 — 55

56—01

62 — 72

73—77

78-85

86 —

( ii )

The Old English Correspondence in the District
CoUectorates, Bengal ' I

By Tapan Kumar Ray Choudhuri.

The Mukhbir-i-Sadiq of Lucknow ... ... 93—^7

By K. Sajunlal.

A Nishan of Muhammad Akbar, Heir-apparent of Shah 98 ~103-

Alam Bahadur Badshah Ghazi

By A. H. Nizami.

Parwana Relating to the Sanad of Sardeshmukhi ... ... i04_i07

By B. W. Bhat,

Contemporary Biography of a Fifteenth Century Stifi ... 108-7/4-

Saint of Bihar

By S. H. Askari.

Records from the Rajaina Family of Wai
By G. H. Khare.

nr,- j2(>

CHARLES DESVOEUX AT ACHIN 1772—73.

By S. N. Das Gupta.

On February 10, 1772, the Madras government decided to send,
two missions, one under Edward Monckton to negotiate the offer of
the Sultan of Queda, the other to Achin under Charles Desvoeux ta
discourage private traders “from forming factories on their own
account” and “to regulate trade and establish it on such a footing
as would encourage merchants from all parts to the country”. (^)
This last was the' outcome of the strong representations of the Court
of Directors to Madras for detailed information of the exact nature-
of trade followed by private merchant associations like Jourdan,
Sulivan and De Souza with Achin, Queda and other islands of the
eastern archipelago, and the privileges which such associations have
obtained “by means of their intercourse and traffic with these
parts”. (2) The Directors were “surprised as well as displeased” at
the 'knowledge of the establishment of a trading factory at Achin
“by a set of gentlemen of your Presidency who, by the intrigues of
their factors, supported by a naval force and some hundreds of
sepoys from your coast, have gained such an ascendancy as to res-
train the freedom of trade hitherto enjoyed by Europeans in those-
parts”. (®) They felt that such proceedings were alien to the express,
orders of the Company and “morally abhorrent”, and foreshadowed'
the risk of involving the Company in disputes with other powers;
who may consider the activities of the agents of private firms as-
“invasion of the rights of their respective subjects”. The Madras-
authorities were severely reprimanded for being blind to “such:
extraordinary measures” and for giving scope to “such an un-
warrantable scheme to operate to such an extent” (^). They were
asked to employ every means in their power to put a stop to all
abuses “which avarice of individuals may have prompted them toi,
commit” (®).

The above sentiments were expressed at a meeting of the Execu-
tive Committee of the Court of Directors held on April 20, 1771, and'
received by Madras on December 31, 1771. The President and

Council of Madras, in consequence, asked Messrs Jourdan, Sulivan
and De Souza on January 24, 1772, to submit “a clear and particular

, (^) Factory Records, Sumatra 16, Instructions to Monckton and Desvoeux.

(^) Madras Qjneral Letters from Court, April 10, 1771; Factory Records, Sumatra.-
15.

(^) Ibid.

{*) Ibid.

(') Ibid.

account of the origin of that concern (the factory and trade at Achin),

its progress from time to time and its present , situation... and

satisfy the President and Council and the Court of Directors in
respect to the several complaints”. (^) On February 10, 1772, the
reply from the firm of De Souza was received along with letters
from Captain Francis Light in respect to a territorial offer from the
Sultan of Queda.

The kingdom of Achin lies in the north-west promontory of
Sumatra. The correct .place name is “Acheh” or “Achai” meaning
“splendid” or “fine”. The word is said to have been uttered in
admiration by the first visitors from India on sighting the beautiful
coast. (2). The word also means “a species of leach” which abounds
in the forests along the western coast of Sumatra. The place is
commonly but erroneously known to Europeans as “Acheen”,
“Atchin” or “Achin”. This misconception was disclosed by Valentyn
in 1688(^). Achin saw the zenith of its power and glory during thfe
first half of the seventeenth century. Its ascendancy was the out-
come of the Portuguese pol cy of monopoly enforced on either side
of the Malacca Strait resulting in the deflexion of the country trade
from the usual resorts to “Acheh Besar” or “Achin proper”. Achin
rapidly developed in wealth and became t'he most powerful kingdom
in north Sumatra. Its suzerainty stretched over a wide area consi-
derably beyond its own frontiers, comprising at one time not only
the whole of the east coast, with the kingdom of Siak, but also an
extensive tract of the west coast including Padang and Indrapura.
The Dutch were chiefly instrumental in bringing about the decline
of Achin in the second half of the seventeenth century. Achin was
forced to yield to a superior power and to a policy of aggressive
diplomacy. The feudal system of government broke down. The
power of the central authority weakened. The inland provinces and
the subordinate chiefs increased in strength, and the ensuing struggle
between the centrifugal and centripetal forces in eighteenth century
Achin is not very dissimilar to the contest between the monarchy
and the feudal baronage in medieval Europe. Thenceforth the
power of Achin was gradually confined to the narrow limits of
northern Sumatra.

The English East India Company had established a trading sta-
tion at Achin in the seventeenth century though this ; had not
proved profitable and had been withdrawn, chiefly due to the- inter-
ference of the Dutch who “prevented the Company’s agent from

- - . _

(^) Goodlad (Secrot'iry to the Madras Council) to Jourdan, Sulivan and De Souza
January 24, 1772 ; Factory Records, Sumatra 16, 1772-7.3. '

{-1 J.S.B.R.A.S. ISTo. 5, June 18S0, p. 37. ' '

( =) n id.

lading what he had agreed for and forced the English ships away to
the loss of their whole voyage”. (^). Trade with Achin, however,
was not altogether abandoned and private English merchants, Surat
and other country vessels continued to visit the place and did a
profitable trade by bartering the “coast cloths” of India for Achin
pepper, which was “bigger and heavier than that of Malabar and
was hence more prized by Indians”. (2). Trade was carried on
mostly upon credit arid entirely by retail, “sometimes one piece of
cloth, sometimes five and scarcely ever more than twenty at a
time”.(^) The usual practice was to sell on credit to Malay mer-
chants “opium, piece goods etc.” for which they promised to return,
in three or four months, betel-nut, pepper and other products of the
islands of the archipelago; it frequently happened that they did not
“come back so soon as the time stipulated”. (^) All matters relating to
trade, commerce, and the customs of the port came under the
jurisdiction of the Shahhundar who gave license to trade. The
king, as usual in other Malay states, was the chief merchant and
no trade could be done at Achinese ports without his letter of autho-
rity. The internal disturbances, however, were a hindrance to trade
and when several visiting vessels were treacherously cut off, Achin
was deserted by country traders and English merchants for many
years.

Towards the middle of the eighteenth century, methods of con-
ducting business came to be organised “on a definite and permanent
basis”. Firms took the place of “loosely associated individuals”.
The jointstock method of trade became more “permanent partner-
ships”. Messrs Jourdan, Sulivan and De Souza was one of these
several joint-stock trading firms which aimed particularly at re-
establishing the English trade at Achin. In 1766, the Indian Trader,
350 tons burden, was purchased and despatched by Jourdan to
Achin, with opium from Bengal and blue cotton cloth from Porto
Novo, in charge of Gowan Harrop supercargo. (^) Harrop “could not
make any immediate sales on account of troubles that subsisted
there”. (®) He had to land “a Moor agent” to take charge of the
cargo, while he proceeded to Rhio. The agent was obliged, owing
to increased trouble, to transport the goods under his charge on board

(^) Reports of the Council of Trade and Plantations, P.B.O.O.C. 77, VIII.

(’) Purohas II, pp. 317-18.

(’) Desvoeux to Du Pre, April 15, 1772 ; Factory Records, Sumatra 16, 1772-73.
(*) Ibid.

(") Jourdon to Sulivan and De Souza, Juno 17, 1772, Sumatra 15.

{•) Ibid.

a ship belonging- to the king of Achin.(^) On an outbreak o'f hosti-
lities between Achin and the French; the goods of the English traders
•were seized by the latter and in spite of representations to the
Madras government no redress could be obtained by Jourdan’s
association for the losses sustained. (^), On Harrop’s return to Achin,
the king, in lieu of some outstanding debts, offered him- “a piece of
ground to build an house and Warehouse upon”, (3), and engaged to
jgive the association

“one half of the advantages of the retail trade of his country,
which from custom belonged to him, on the condition that
we would advance money for the purchase of goods and
keep on shore a number of our people armed, that in
case of his being attacked, we might give him the assist-
ance of a few men with firelocks of which the Malays
are still apprehensive”. ('’)

'To Jourdan and his associates “the offer appeared advantageous” and
was immediately accepted. The strength of their forces on board
the vessel Indian Trader was increased by seventy-five, enlisted and
shipped mainly at ISTagore, on the Tan j ore coast. (®) The king’s move
not only served to cover the initial losses sustained by the Madras
adventurers but helped to increase their trade, and Achin from “an
inconsiderable town” became once more a centre of commerce draw-
ing to its port, as before,

“many English as Avell as Moor vessels, who, before had not
ventured into that port, now came to trade, as
Mr. Harrop frequently assisted them in the sales of their
goods, sometimes taking off whole cargoes on account of
the king for bills on me (Jourdan) by which, vessels that
would otherwise have been obliged to wait many months
to collect the goods of the inhabitants in payment of
the goods by them sold, were enabled to proceed further
into the straights and take the advantage of other
markets”. (®)

It was then that the incident of the Fortune occurred. The king, at
the instigation of Harrop, had prohibited his subjects from having
•any trade dealings with the vessel when it touched the port of Achin.
Complaints made • by the merchants' of the Fortune forced the

(^) Jourclon fo Bulivon and>De pet za, Jane 17, 1772, Sumatra 16.
(2) Ibid.

(«) Ibid.

{*) Ibid.

<^) Ibid.

(*) Ibid.

Directors to take cognizance of the dealings of Jourdan’s association
at Achin and despatch to Madras orders, referred . above, to enquire
into and remove the causes of complaint “or make it . appear that the
facts have been exaggerated to us”.(^) Jourdan refuted all charges
oh his association to monopolize the trade at Achin and throw impedi-
ments on the way of other merchants. On the contrary, the associa-
tion had “to run great risks” and had been “put to great expenses”
in the pursuit of that trade, while the greater part of the advantages
therefrom were reaped by the Cornpany and other merchants trad-
ing to that port. (2) Jourdan wrote:

“The amount of goods from time to time exported from the
Company’s bounds has not been far short of 300,000
pagodas, on which the Company’s customs have been
duly paid and the amount of goods imported (of which
a considerable quantity of different articles have been
sold to the Company for China) must have amounted to
nearly as much which could not have, but for the protec-
, tion of the king of Achin to Mr. Harrop”(^).

Jourdan and his colleagues thus explained away the charges against
Harrop as “ill-founded”. The king of Achin, reduced to a state of
penury, was “frequently obliged to borrow money for his subsis-
tence, and his jewels, paltry as they are, are pawned”. ('’) His main
^source of income was from the port duties which amounted
annually to about Rs. 60,000. This he had farmed out for five years
to merchants who agreed to pay him the amount in monthly instal-
ments and “in consideration of the trouble and expense they were
to have in collecting these duties, he had granted to them an exclu-
sive privilege of trade”. (®) The king had also contracted a huge debt
of over Rs. .40,000 from Jourdan’s association and “was entirely
subsisted from the factory on an enormous expense and this without
the smallest prospect of advantage and a. very precarious one of
payment”. (®) For the discharge of this debt, he had entered into an
agreement with Harrop to pay Rs. 10,000 annually out of the sum
realized from the port duties. But Harrop had failed to. obtain more
than 100 pagodas in three years and was “frequently oblidged, in
order to avoid an open quarrel, to overlook chicanery and breaches
of promise”. (7)

■(') Madras Greneral Letters from Court, April 10, 1771; Factory Records Sumatra,
J6, '.1772,-73.

T' (“>) Ibii.. . ' ■ '

■ (»VI67d.

(*) Desvoetix to Dupre, Achin, May 23, 1772, Sumatra 15, 1772-73.

(') Same to same, Achin, April 16, 1772, Ibid. ' ‘ ^

(*) Same to same, December 9, 1112, Ibid. '

O Ibid. ■ '

It may be surmised from the correspondence that the Madras
government was not aware of any high-handed proceedings of the
trading' firm of . Joxirdan ^ and his colleagues. The ’ letter ' from
the Court came as a surprise to them. ' The "Court “being' confidently
assured that the greatest comnierciar and naval advantage's may' be
obtained both for the Compaiiy and individuals ^ by bpehing a more
intimate connection ' with the Achinese” under the Company 's ' flag,
revised their previous opinion of April 10, 1771, and in a fresh despatch
to Madras of May 8, 1771, sent ihstructions for taking necessary
measures by which “the factory and settlenient made by private
persons, contrary , to our knowledge and without any powers derived
from the Company” should be, delivered oyer to the Company
“together with the pow;ers and immunities with which those private
traders may have been invested from the governing authority
there’ (^). ' Reasonable compensation was to be granted to Jourdan’s
association “for what.,they have actually expended in establishing a
trade at that port (Achin)” (2). Previous to forming an actual
settlement, a convenaiited servant, who could be depended on for
his abilities as a diplomat was to be sent to Achin “to know what
advantages and privileges the Company are to expect from the king
upon forming such ah estabhshment and to treat for and settle
articles the most favourable for that purpose”(*). Stipulations were
to be of a purely commercial nature. Temtorial acquisitions were
to be wholly abjured. Political engagements with the Mng, if any,
were to be defensive based on principles of ■ non-intervention and
should not in any way hurt the sentiments of' other European
powers('^).

The instructions subnutted to Desvoeux by the Madras govern-
ment were as follows; to take over' on the Company’s behalf, at a
fair yaluation, all the privileges which the private traders had
secured at Achiri; to provide rhilita^ assistance to the king against
external attack; to secure the port duties for, the upkeep of the
British force; failing this, to" “insist' that the collection, at least; of
these duties be, entirely left' to the Company, who will accoxmt to the
luting. for them and after defraying the ^nuai amoupt of military
charges' pay the residue into ’ His treasury if aiiy should ' remain”;
but if the collections were not sufficient to cover the ihilitary expen-
se', theykiiig '^should 'compensate' for the deficiency from his treasury.
The 'Cpmpahy pad '“ho' desire 'for any extensive territoridi’ acqmsj-
tion neither did it want to interfere or have any concerjp iii the

{*) Secret Committee of Directora to Select .Committee At Port St. Qeqrge, May 8»
1771; Factory Records, Sumatra 16.

,(») Ibid,
.(») Ibid.
P) Ibid

affairs of his country (^)”. Its intention was “to render the undertak-
ing as little expensive as possible” (2), Desvoeux was told;

dp not mean that you should commence any extensive
concerns or launch out into distant trade in the hope of

acquiring considerable profit we mean to confine-

you to barter on the spot the sale of such goods as may
be consigned to you for staple articles proper for the
China market or for money or gold dust and we shall
be happy to find that the expenses of supporting you in
the Residency are compensated for by such trade (*)”.

Desvoeux reached Achin in the Snow Adventure on March 26, 1772,
with Lieutenant Thomas Lane in command of the detachment of
sepoys “to be employed in the service”. Harrop was absent at the
tune and Desvoeux considered it prudent to wait for his advice before
an interview with the king. In the meantime, he investigated the
state of affairs and submitted a severe condemnation on the transac-
tions of Jourdan’s association:

The more I have enquired the more I have been amazed; here
has been for four or five years past an extensive busi-
ness carrying on by people by no means adequate to the-
charge; here has been money after money continually
advancing to the Sultan without scarcely the most
distant prospect of payment; here have been almost
endless expenses incurred and losses sustained in re-
moving the factory from one place to another without
even a plausible reason to be assigned for it; in short,
here have been so many absurdities committed, that
one would almost imagine men must have been infatuat-
ed to have entrusted such large concerns into the hands
of people so ill-qualified to conduct them”('’).

in January 1772, Holloway, the Resident at Tappanooly had arrived
with orders from the governor and council at Fort Marlbro’ “to-
endeavour to establish a factory for the Company at the place’\
The king of Achin had refused to comply with his demand(®)^
Desvoeux was troubled with the thought of failure. i Harrop re-
turned on March 29, and explained to Desvoeux that the king
personally had no objection to the establishment of a factory but
that he had very little influence over his principal ministers who were-

(^) Dupre to Desvoeux, Fob. 23, 1772; Sumatra 15,

•(*) Sani^ to Same, Juno 28, 1772, Sumatra I 5 .

'{*) Ibid' ' ■ • -■■■-: ■ •

(*) Desvoeux to Du Pre,Acliin, March 28, 1772, .Sumatra IK. • •

1 *) Madras Consultations, June 24, 1772, Sumatra 16.

“apprehensive in such a case that the protection the Sultan
would receive from' the Company would enable him to
oblige them to pay him that respect and submission
which they have for some years almost entirely shaken

In his first audience with the king, Desvoeux .was “very civilly
received”(2). The king, while expressing satisfaction at the prospect
of military assistance from the English factory, was not willing to
•comply with the demand for the assignment of the port duties to
the Company. On' April 8, the king granted to the Company per-
mission for the erection of a factory in the following terms :

“The Sultan of Achin thoroughly sensible of the friendship
of the English East India Company now manifested to-
wards him in a more particular manner by sending a
body of troops for his protection is very happy at the
thoughts of their establishing a factory in 'his country.

“The factory now occupied by Harrop for the purpose of
carrying on the trade of his employers being inconve-
niently situated, the Sultan will grant to the Company
a proper spot for erecting a new one, as soon as one
can be pitched upon; but as this cannot be done imme-
diately and as the Sultan is desirous that no time should
be lost in testifying his gratitude and goodwill to the
Company, he does hereby grant unto them the ground
on which the factory now occupied by Mr. Harrop
stand which is to be their property until another factory
shall be elsewhere erected by them.

“The ground allotted for the new factory shall be nearer to
the mouth of the river than the present for the greater
conveniency of landing goods from boats”(^).

The British colours were hoisted on the same day. On the follow-
ing day (April 9) Desvoeux succeeded in negotiating the privilege of
•exporting and importing goods free of duty in' all parts of the king’s
■dominions (^). Before long, however, he realised the inability of the
king to fulfil the terrhs of the agreement with the Company, By a
■pre-vious agreement with merchants, the king had 'farmed out the
•port duties for a period of five years and “were he himself to bear

(*) SladrdS Consultations, June 24, 1772* Sumatra 16,

(*) Ibid. . . ,

(®) Translation of the Snltan of Atohin’s Gi?ant of- a Factory to the English East
Jndia Company, dated April 8. 1772 (Enclosed in Desvooux’s Letter to Du Pre, Atchin,
April ?6, 1772); Medras Consultations, Jime 26, 1772, Sumatra 16. ' '

(*) Ibid.

•9

the Company’s expenses' out of the sums paid to him by the farmers
he must himself starve” (1),' Moreover, one half of the duties were
. mortgaged to Harrop’s employers for the payment of the large debt
“due to them,' and the association was not inclined to close its busi-
ness at Achin until the debt was recovered. Sulivan and De Souza
communicated their sentiments to Governor Du Pre in the following
terms :

“ declared our apprehension that those people whom we

were always obliged to sell to on credit and who were
now considerably indebted to us, would take advantage
of the Company’s intention and find means to evade pay-
ment of their just debt to us, unless compelled thereto by
the authority of the Company”(^).

In consequence of the contract with the king, Harrop had pur-
chased goods to a considerable amount which, together with those
in the warehouses, could not all be disposed of at once. Sulivan and
De Souza hence writes: —

“ that from the nature and tenor of our contract entered

into by our agent before the Company’s intention could
be made known to him and from the quantity of goods
purchased by him, it would be absolutely out of our
power to conclude our business at Achin for a consider-
able time”(^).

The firm demanded reasonable compensation for closing their
. business at Achin :

“ as we shall be deprived by the Company’s taking this

trade into their own hands, of the fruits of our labour,
expenses and risques in re-establishing and bringing it
to its present footing and be left burthened with the
heavy charge of two large ships bought particularly for

this trade we shall be greatly embarrassed and

suffer considerably in our private fortunes unless you
be well pleased so far as to relieve us as to take on the
Company’s account at ‘an appraisement to be made at
Achin the goods and warehouses we have there, in
doing of which the Company can sustain no loss ”('*).

: ■ It was not the intention of the Company “to distress the con-
cerned”. Oh the contrary, the Company desired “to show every
indulgence we can consistently with our duty”(®). Du Pre gave

(h Desvoeux to Du Pre. Achin, April 15, 1772, Sumatra 16.

(•) Sulivan and Do Souza to Du Pre, Fort St. George, June 17, 1772, Sumatra 16^

_ , ,

{») it.w.r ■ ” .

(®) president and Council, Port St. George to Desvoeux, June 28 , 1772,' Sumatra

16 .

assurance to Jourdan and his colleagues that the Company shall offer
every assistance for the proper settlement of their coiicerns and the
recovery of their debts and allo-y a reasonable time for the {hsposal
of their effects “within which time no trade should be commenced
on the .Company’s account”. A despatch to Desvoeux asked hiih, '

"to permit the concerned to continue their trade on its present
footing and without any interfering on the part of the
Company until the end of January 1773”, and “to receive
from them the immunity by which they are entitled to
half the duties on imports and exports till the Sultan’s
debt to them is discharged, but nevertheless to permit
them to enjoy tmder the Company the advantages arising
from that immunity till the said debt be discharged” (^).

The idea of Du Pre was to continue Harrop in the collection of
the port duties “in the name of the Company as servants employed
bj’’ you”. Harrop was to render to Desvoeux “a just, clear and true
account of the collections” which was to be brought over in the
books of the Company “as collected on the part of the Company and
that done you (Desvoeux) will restore to them (Jourdan’s firm) the
net amount to which they are entitled, in discharge of so much of
the Sultan’s debt” (2). Desvoeux, thenceforth, attempted mainly to
secure the king’s share of the port duties. But he was soon con-
vinced of the king’s “unwillingness to grant unto the Company any
further immunities” (*). All he could obtain was a verbal promise-
which was never confirmed in a written order. He wrote to Du
Pre on December 9:

“As to his (King’s) promise he paid very little regard to it,"
however, at length he consented that the customs on
all vessels carrying European Commanders should be
collected until the first day of January, 1773 by the
Company’s servants, one half of the sums so collected
to be appropriated to the Company’s use, the other
half, after settling the accounts to be paid to Mr. Harrop-
in discharge of his debt to his employers, but after that
day he reserved to himself the power of taking them
again into his own hands if he should think proper;
this is all I could obtain and even this with much
difficulty” (^).

(») Ibid.

Desvoeux to Du Pro, Aoliin, Docombor 9, 1772, Madras Oaasulfcations, Dtjcombor-
29, 1772, Sumatra 15. '

{*) Ibid.

The English factory, situated oh the hank “of a yery pleasant
river”, about si quarter of a mile from the king’s fort, was not
protected by any ramparts of ditch and was “quite exposed” to
-attack on the south and east. Lascars were employed in raising “a
bastion of turf”, but orders came from the king to stop the work of
improving the fortifications as

“the bastion I had already erected had much alarmed his
subjects who were universally possessed with a notion
that the Company after having built a strong fort in-
tended to enslave them in the same manner as they had
at Bencooleh and several other places on the west of
the island” (^).

Heports also came to Desvoeux that

“numbers of people came down from the hills with a design to
drive us out of the country before the arrival of the
reinforcement they imagined we expected from the
coast”(2).

To have delayed longer with the fortifications would have been
•^‘imprudent”. In spite of further orders from the king, Desvoeux
“set about the work in earnest”. The people from the hills “conti-
nued some days about the factory but at length returned home with-
out attempting to molest us, having been prevented only by the

fear of our musketry” ((^).

The king explained to Desvoeux that this “uncommon concourse
of people” must have been the result of a rumour that he had sold
his country to the English. On November 15, Desvoeux received “a
formal message” from the king asking the English to leave the
•country “in peace” to prevent “a general insurrection” ('*). The king
found himself under, “the disagreeable necessity” of calling the
grant of a factory he had lately made to the Company. A letter
to much the same effect was addressed by the king to the President
and Council of Madras(®). Desvoeux did not apprehend an open
attack since he knew the Achinese “to be very deficient in courage”.
But they could be “troublesome” and distress the English by cutting
•off supplies and stopping communications with the sea. The handful
of English at Achin may be placed under the unpleasant situation of
struggling “for every article of provision”. He, therefore, asked for

(‘? Ibid.
{”-) Ibid.
(’) Ibid.
(q Ibid.
(q Ibid.

immediate reinforcement from Madras and, in the meantime, in-
formed the King that it was beyond his powers “to comply. with his
requests without orders from my superiors at Madras” from whom
“an answer might be expected in the month of February” (^).

The decision of the Madras Council, January 16, 1773, was des-
patched by the Company’s schooner Cuddalore, Captain John
Wedderburn, on January 19, 1773, and must have reached Desvoeux
in February 1773. The Madras government was convinced that
Desvoeux could not “remain any longer at Achin either with safety
to himself or any prospect of advantage to the Company” (2). It was
therefore resolved to withdraw the factory immediately and
Desvoeux was advised “to return to the coast with his detachment
and stores as soon as possible” (^). The king was to make reasonable
compensation to the Company for the considerable expenses incurred
by the establishment of a factory at Achin or,

"at least that he should reimburse the charges they have sus-
tained by the building and repairs of the fort which will
become his property on Mr. Desvoeux’s quitting the
country” ('^). . _ . . .

Thus the attempt of the English Company to renew the relations
with Achin was brought to a sudden end, and with it collapsed the
trading adventure of the firm of Jourdan, Sulivan and De Souza.

C) Ibid.

(^) Letter to Des^ceux, Fort St. George, Jenuarj’- 16, 1773, Sumatra 16.

(=) Jbtd.

(«) Ibid.

Dr. S. K". Das Gupta js a Reader in the Historj' Department of the Lucknorv'
University and is an Asrociate Member of the Indian Historical Records Commis-
sion. His publications include The British in the Malay Indies .

THE CORRESPONDENCE OF MODAVE.

(By S. P. Sen.5

In the second half of the 1 8th century a large number of French'
military adventurers swarmed the courts of the various Indian
Princes in search of career and fortune. Some of them achieved
reputation, power and wealth, while others were destined to remain
in oblivion. Their adventures and experience give us an interest-
ing view of the political situation of India after the disintegration
of the Mughal empire. One of these French adventurers, less known
to students of history than Sombre or Madec, was Louis-Laurent
Dolisy Comte de Modave, who was in India from 1773 to 1777 and
travelled extensively all over the country. Some extracts from his-
Journal du voyage du Bengale a Delhi have been translated by Sir
Jadunath Sarkar and published in the Bengal Past and Present and
Islamic Culture. They do not, ' however, give us a connected
account of the adventures of this interesting Frenchman. A fuller
and detailed history of Modave’s career in India may be gathered
from the large number of his letters addressed to Bellecombe,
Governor of Pondicherry, and others, which are preserved in the
Pondicherry Archives and which form an important collection of
original manuscripts there^. One letter in particular, written to
Bellecombe in the form' of a “memoire” from Sa'ngi near Adoni, and
dated May 1, 1777, is of great interest, as containing a detailed
narrative of his adventures in northern India and in the Deccan,,
and an account of the state of affairs at the Courts of Delhi and
Hyderabad and of the desire of the Emperor and Nizam Ali to have-
some French troops in their service to counteract the increasing
power of the English.

Modave was in a way different from the rest of the French ad-
venturers of the time, although he also came to India purely as a
soldier of fortune. In contrast to the obscure origins and lack of
education of most of his compatriots who sought careers in the
service of the Indian Princes, Modave was a polished and cultured
noble, quoting freely from the Classics as well as from Montesquieu
and Voltaire. He was a keen observer of men and things and waS'
gifted with an excellent style. These two qualities give his accounts
a much greater interest to students of history than those of others..
Modave was an officer in the Cavalry and had seen service irr

1. Deo No. 283. — Catalogue des Manuscripts des Ancionnes Archieves de 1 ’Inde Fran*
oaise, I,

'Germany during the Seven Years War. He was later appointed
'Governor of Madagascar, but he soon gave it up and turned into a
planter. His plantation schemes, however, only brought him finan-
cial ruin. He ran into debts and orders were issued for his
arrest. Leaving his wife in the Isle, of France (Mauritius), he came
to India in 1773 to retrieve his fortune by offering his services to
■one of the Princes. He visited .Pondicherry aind Chariderriagbre,'
but did not stay long at either place for fear of being arrested. At
_ Chandernagore he came in contact with Chevalier, who appeared
not only cold towards him but positively hostile to his plan 6'f seek-
ing a military career in north India and wrote to Madec, then in the
serhce of Najaf Khan, not to give any help or en'cdufagem^nt to
him.

Modave remained in Bengal for eleven moiiths, most of the timb
in Calcutta, where he had an opportunity of seeing from' close
quarters the military strength a!nd the system of civil , admihis’tratioh
■of the English. In his letter to Bellecombe, dated May 1, 1777,
referred to above, Modave stated that contrary to the wishful think-
ing of many Frenchmen the English position in Bengal was quite
secure, being based on two firm foundations, military s'trength and
a benevolent civil administration. There v/ere 3700 European
troops, divided into three Brigades and stationed at Calcutt^i,'
ICasifnb'a'i^ar and Pattl'a', besides 27,000 sepoys; divided; into Battalion'S'
and commanded by European officers'. Modave, who had witnessed
a parade in 1774, did not think much of the European troops but was
highl';^ im'prSs'sdd by the sepoyo: There was a large and well-s&ved
artillery, divided into three sections, supporting each df the three
Infantry Brigades. Commenting on the strength arid efficiency of
the English army in Bengal Modave wrote, “I have seen this iriilitary
machine and I have examined it carefully. I can assiire you that
it is not to be slighted in any way, and that being supported by the
internal resources of the country and the fort of Calcutta it can be
quite sufficient for defence.” He had also seen the fort, a plan of
which, he believed, must have been sent to Bellecombe by Chevalier
who had taken it secretly from the office of Major Polier, the Chief
Engineer of the fort. Modave disapproved of the way in which the
troops were kept at Kasimbazar and Patna, corripletely exposed to
any surprise attack. He expressed great admiration for the English
Administration in Bengal and particularly for the wisdom fin'd
sagacity of Warren Hastings whose constant concern was ' to make
“the British Government loved”. Hastings had established law, and
order throughout the province, recognised the proprietory of the
landlords and attempted to combine the principles of English law
with the laws and customs of the Hindus and Muslims. The ' inte-^'
rests of the local people were fully protected by law and in fact

-sometimes the scales of justice turned so much in their favour that
as an Englishman complained to Modave in Calcutta, “it was diifi-
'Cult to get justice against a Bengali”.

Prom Bengal Modave went to Paizabad and then to Lucknow
towards the end of 1774, hoping to get employment under Shuja-ud-
daulah who had just returned from a victorious campaign against
the Rohillas. There were many well-known Prenchmen in Shuja’s
service at the time, — Gentil, Aumont, Visage and others; and
although the English did not like any addition to their number,
Shuja gave Modave the command of a detachment which he pro-
posed to send to Delhi to the help of the Emperor, on a monthly
-salary of four thousand rupees. But the sudden death of Shuja in
January 1775 upset all arrangements, as the English put effective
pressure upon jiis successor not to give any employmnt to Modave,
and in fact all the Frenchmen in the service of the Nawab of Oudh
were thrown out.

Modave next thought of employment under the Emperor and
wrote to Madec who was then in the service of Najaf Khan and has
great influence at the Imperial Court. On Madec’s assurance of all
possible help Modave started for Agra, where he arrived on the 10th
March, 1775. From there he proceeded to Bari, Madec’s headquar-
ters, and received a warm welcome. Two days after Modave’s
arrival at Bari there came a messenger from Delhi with a letter from
-a Frenchmen settled there, informing him that the Emperor coming
to know of Modave’s arrival at Agra had ordered his minister, Abdul
Ahad Khan, to contact him and to induce him to join the Imperial
-service and that a Wakil from the minister was waiting for him at
Agra. Arrangements were quickly completed through the inter-
vention of Madec who even supplied money and necessary equip-
ments for the journey to Delhi. Modave reached Delhi about the
middle of April 1775, and within a few days the terms and conditions
of service were settled. He was given a salary of 2,500 rupees per
month, besides the amoimts to be paid to his “Diwan” and domestic
servants. Two other Frenchmen, Dieu and Moncelet, who had
joined Modave at Faizabad, also received appointments on 600 and
400 rupees respectively. After the terms had been finally settled
Modave had his first audience with the Emperor where he was
received “with the same solemnity which since then I have seen
practised only for an Ambassador of Timur Shah, king of Kandahar”.
For his residence he was given the palace of Shaista Khan. A part
of the troops under his command was garrisoned there, the re-
mainder being stationed in the fort to guard the person of the
Emperor. The fort of Shalimghar and the whole of the Imperial
■artillery were also to have been placed under his control.

Modave used to go to “the Darbar of the Minister everyday and
three or four times a week to the audience of the Padcha”. He was
taken into confidence by the Emperor, who thought of ' utilising him
for negotiations for an alliance with France. “This Prince expressed
to me a great desire to enter into correspondence with the King
(of France). I believe that it came from a hope to draw from it
some help and by that means to impose his authority on his great

vassals.... I come to this conclusion because of the attempts

which this Prince made on several occasions to open a correspon-
dence with the King of England As I. felt myself greatly

obliged to Madec, I wished to turn in his favour the desire which
I saw in the Padcha to write to the King. I myself made the
model of the letter®. It was translated into Persian. The minister
of the Padcha wrote on his side to M. de Sartine. Madec gave an
account to the Minister about the object of this letter and of affairs
in Hindusthan in general. The Padcha had authorised him to offer
to the king Parawanas for the town of Tatta-Bakar and of the
province of Sind”^ Modave continued that the despatch of the
Emperor’s letter met with an accident in the Ganges, “and the letter
of the Padcha was so much spoilt that it was no longer presentable.
The packet of Madec for M. de Sartine had not suffered from this
accident. The Minister must have received it and I do not know
what conclusion he will draw from it in the absence of the letter
of the Great Mogol to the King mentioned therein. There were
duplicates of all these documents in the hands of Madec. I do not
know if he had made any use of them, for I left Hindusthan a few
weeks after learning of the disaster to the packet”.

It is better to interrupt the course of the narrative here and turn
to another letter of Modave, dated Agra, October 19, 1775, and
addressed to Moracin, Intendant at Pondicherry, which contains
some interesting details about the proposal for an alliance with
France and. the cession of Tatta. Modave wrote to Moracin that the
same, despatch included a letter from the Emperor to Law, Gover-
nor of Pondicherry, expressing his full confidence in Madec. “He
(the Emperor) begged Law to make known this confidence to the
minister of the King (of France) and to write to France that Madec

knew all his intentions. The object of this letter is to draw

the attention of the Ministers to the things that Madec will write to
the Court. In fact, the Emperor has. asked him to propose an alliance
between him and the King. He hopes from his overtures to be
able to procure a corps of French troops, with which he will make

, *“'rhe first draft is contained in Modave’s “Journal du Voyage du Bengale a Delhi”. .

^oran account of the Tatta Project see author’s Paper, “A French Project for the
T , Proceedings of Indian Historical Becords, Commission, Silver

Jubilee Session, 1948. -

himself recognised and obeyed and in addition will be in a position
to impress the English who are causing him great alarm by the
successive acquisitions they are making on both sides of the Ganges
in pushing up this river. The means which the Emperor is employ-
ing to obtain this help is the offer, pure and simple, which he has

made to the King of a strong place and a large territory I

am going to disclose them to you while asking you to maintain the
greatest secrecy regarding this object. It is the town and the
Souba of Tatta situated on the river Indus at a distance of 20 leagues
from its mouth. The Emperor did not wish to inform Monsieur
Law of this intention because he was afraid that the matter might
leak out and the English might come to know of it. I have no fear
in informing you about it, because I know very well that you will
make a prudent use of this information and that you will induce

M. Law to write strongly to France as the Padcha desires

Modave then stated what part he played in the negotiations and in
what form letters were written to the Minister in France. “This,
negotiation which I have conducted in Delhi required, as you can
well understand, some details to show its merit in France. It is.
for this object that I have come to Agra where Madec resides..
As a result he has sent to the Minister a short account of his personal
history, a detailed and well thought-out account of the intentions
and views of the Padcha and a political sketch of the present state
of the Mughal Empire, considered in all its parts, and he added toi
them a “memoire” on the town and Souba of Tatta-Bakar, with some-
observations on the advantage of this acquisition and on the means
required not only to secure but also to extend it. That is the
principal object of the account which M. Madec has rendered to the
Court. I did not wish to be named in it in order to leave him the
credit for the negotiation and also not to bring misfortune on the
affair. If it succeeds I shall be rewarded for my troubles by the
advantage that the nation may draw out of it and by the pleasure
that I shall feel in seeing such an important negotiation being con-
cluded under the very nose of M. Chevalier without his having the-
least knowledge of it”. We have already seen how modave had
reason to complain of Chevalier’s conduct towards him.

Let us next resume the course of the narrative contained in the
letter to Bellecombe, dated May 1, 1777. Modave had soon reason to-
feel dissatisfied with the service of the Emperor, who was profuse in.
his promises but had neither the means nor the will to fulfil them.
He never received even half the salary he was entitled to, and when-
ever he complained he was told that he should not worry about
petty matters, that the Emperor had great schemes in his mind for
him, either to send him to France as his Ambassador or to entrust to-
him the government of the province of Sirhind with a revenue of

60 lakhs of rupees, but Modaye at once realised that with the small
force at his command he could not even think of conquering Sirhind
from the hands of the Sikhs. In his financial distress. he wrote to
Madec, who promptly replied that he would arrange with Najaf
Khan to transfer the assignment of his salary to his own jagir. In
order to finalise the transaction Modave started for Agra, with the
reluctant consent of the Emperor and of his favourite minister,
Abdul Ahad Khan, who was then a bitter rival to Kajaf Khan. He
stayed in Madec’s camp for nearly five months, down to the siege
of Dig, at the end of which finding his position no better he decided
to quit and asked Madec to settle his accounts. Madec was in great
financial embarrassment after his recent defeat at the hands of
Rohillas, and could pay only 8,000 out of 32,000 rupees due to Modave.
But he told Modave that he was shortly going back to Europe, and
in compensation of the money due he would give him a part of his
army, one Infantry battalion with artillery. Modave accepted the
offer and wrote to the Emperor that he was returning: to his service
with a well-armed and well-trained force. He received letters of
welcome from the Emperor and from the Minister, Abdul Ahad Khan,
but as he was starting from Agra his arrangements were suddenly
upset. Aument, who had, through the, good offices of Modave, been
placed in charge of the administration of Madec’s jagir, now instigat-
ed the latter to take back the battalion he had given to Modave.
Madec stopped Modave at Agra and demanded back his battalion on
the ground that because of a recent communication from the Imperial
Court he had decided to postpone his departure from India (March
1776). Modave felt it useless to return to Delhi alone and decided
to take the route to Hyderabad in the hope of getting empffiyment
under Nizam Ali. He started from Agra on the 24th June, and
travelling via Karauli, Kota, Mandasore, Ujjain, Burhanpur and
Aurangabad and reached the capital of the Deccan.,

On his arrival at Hyderabad Modave presented himself to Nizam
Ali but rriet with disappointment because of the instigation of one of
the nobles of the Court in the pay of the Madras Government. He
then wrote to de Lalee and Basalat Jang from whom he received
encouraging response. In the meantime a Deccani noble named
Ibrahim Beg, who had joined the army of Nizam Ali, offered to place
Modave in charge, of his artillery and his . sepoy force with some
European officers on a monthly salary , of 700 rupees. Modave
accepted the offer as he wanted to remain at Hyderabad in the ulti-
mate expectation of being taken in the service of Nizam Ali, . but
when he was asked to sign a long-term contract by Ibrahim Beg he
threw up the offer and went to Adoni, where through the good offices
of de Lalee he was given an appointment by Basalat Jang on a
monthly salary of 600 rupees. Modave gave an interesting, account

of the high state of discipline and efficiency in the camp of de Lalee,
The only punishment for breach of discipline or negligence of duty
was expulsion from the camp. De Lalee himself was not only a
brave soldier and a good organiser of men but also a generous and
cultured person, and Modave recollected having studied with him
at the same school although de Lalee was most reluctant to speak
about his parentage or place of birth.

Modave regarded his service \mder Basalat Jang as a purely tem-
porary accommodation and hoped constantly to be able to find a
better employment under Nizam Ali. He realised that the only way
of attracting the notice of Nizam Ali was by organising a small
corps of his own, well armed and trained in the European fashion..
His main difficulty was lack of money with which to procure arms.
In a letter to Moracin at Pondicherry dated 1st May 1777, he begged
to be supplied with 800 guns on credit, promising to repay the entire
amount in eighteen months.

In a second letter to Bellecombe, written from Sangi near Adni
and dated like the first one May 1, 1777, Modave referred to an inter-
esting interview he had with the Chief Minister of Nizam Ali a
few days after his arrival at Hyderabad. The Minister told him
that in spite of the pressure of the English against, employing any
Frenchman in his service, Nizam Ali was willing to offer an appoint-
ment to Modave if the latter could give him service in the manner he
wanted, and in this connexion the Minister enquired if Modave could
raise a corps of European troops. Modave replied that “there, was a
large number of discontented and ill-paid men dispersed here, and
there, who wpuld not fail to join me as soon as they, came to know
that I was in a position to receive them,” but he could render greater
service than merely collecting a number of vagabonds. He would
“form a corps of sepoys, supported by a good artillery and led, by
white officers.” He was then told that although the English and
the French were at peace, he would be required to .fight against the
English if the Nawab broke with them, to which Modave replied
that “ from the moment I would be in his service his enemies would
be mine”. Next the Minister complained that while Nizam Ali had
been trying for years to open a correspondence with Pondicherry and
had even written to Prance he had not received any response to his '
overtures. He asked if Modave could help ' in transmitting a; letter
from Nizam. Ali to the King of France and in, getting a 'satisfactory
reply, to which Modave said that he “was not properly qualified' to
undertake a mission of that sort”. Besides it would be irregular to
address a letter directly to the king when there was at Pondicherry ••
a General of the highest rank and “depository of the authority and ■
confidence of His Majesty”. He assured .the Minister that- the new

Governor would give a prompt and favourable reply. Modave then
wrote “This conversation was in the form of an interrogation. All
my replies were written down and stamped with my seal and later
this report was sent to the Nawab, but I have not heard" anything
further about it.” He was, however, left with an impression at this
interview that, if he had a corps of troops imder him he would have
been immediately given an employment by Nizam Ali, and that is
why he implored Bellecombe to give him a letter of recommendation
and to induce Moracin to send him the guns he required. As re-
gards the political attitude of Nizam Ali, Modave wrote : “It is
certain that this Prince has a sentiment of affection and preference
for the French nation, but the great power of the English on the
Coromandel coast and the little response he has found from Pondi-
cherry have benumbed this good will”. It was this disappointment
added to the fact that Bellecombe had sent this letter announcing
his assumption of Government at Pondicherry through de Lalee, who
was in the service of his enemy, although a brother, namely Basalat
Jang, and not direct by a personal Wakii which explained why
Nizam Ali had not replied to him. So Modave asked Bellecombe to
send a second letter of notification to Nizam Ali which he would
personally hand over to him, and with it another letter recommend-
ing him for a suitable employment under Nizam Ali. He assured
Bellecombe that he was moved not merely by his personal interest
but also by the interest of the nation, and begged him to persuade
Moracin to supply him with the gtms he required to form a corps of
his own.

In another letter to Bellecombe, dated Sangi, 24th. Jime, 1777,
Modave gave an accoimt of the war between Haider Ali and a com-
bination of the Marathas, Nizam Ali and Hasalat Jang. Basalat Jang
and Nizam Ali had fared badly and were looking for an opportunity
to make peace with Haidar Ali.' Modave suggested that Bellecombe
shotold act as a mediator and thus enhance the prestige and influ-
ence of France in the Deccan. In a second letter of the same date
he informed Bellecombe that he was sending in enclosure copies of
the letter from the Emperor of Delhi to the King of France arid that
of Abdul Ahad Khan to M.de Sartine in connexion with the Tatta
project, regarding which Madec had already written to France.'

In a third letter of the same date Modave repeated his request
to Bellecombe to send him a letter of recommendation for employ-
ment vmder Nizam Ali, and also a clever and intelligent Brahmin
to serve as Wakii. He also enquired if the rumour of the arrival of
Saint-Lubin at Poona was true. He knew Saint-Lubin personally
and ejqiected complete success in his mission.

‘/Unfortunately, however, these enbloBures ate not preserved in the Pondiohem^
Arohiv©8. “

From a note addressed to de Lalee, dated 10th July, 1777, we
learn that Bellecombe sent a letter to Modave for Nizam Ali dealing
with the order of the King “to establish the old contact and
friendship which existed before between our nation and the princes
of the House of Nizamul-Mulk”. , But there is no document to show
whether Modave presented the letter to Nizam Ali and with what
result. All that is known is that Modave suddenly fell ill and retired
to Masulipatam where he died on the 22nd December, 1777®. We
further know from a letter of Bellecombe to the Chief of the French
Factory at Masulipatam, dated 16th January, 1778, that the English
at Masulipatam refused to accord funeral honours to Modave com-
mensurate with his rank®.

® Dec. no. 5180-Catalogu6 des Manuscripts dea Ancienners Archieves de L’Inde Fran-
■caise, VE (Extract from the Register of Deaths at Mauslipatam).

® Dec. no. 288, Jbid. I.

Dr. S. P. Sen is a Corresponding Member of the Indian Historical Records
Commission. He has made an extensive study of French archives relating to India
and IS the author of The French in India: First Establishment and Struggle. He
a lecturer in History at Calcutta University.

A FRENCH ACCOUNT OF COMMERCE IN INDIA IN 1774

[By K. C. Mitrfi]

In the Archives of Pondicherry one frequently comes across
reports and memoirs submitted by French Officers to the Govern-
ment at home. Drawn with the obvious intention of convincing the
home Government of the feasibility of an expedition in India, these
documents dwell mainly on the political position of the European
establishments in India. But sometimes they refer incidentally to
trade conditions which have greater interest for us. The aim of the
present article is to draw attention to a survey of the commercial
resources of India in 1774, as contained in a document which treats
primarily with, the relative position of the European Colonies in
India. The document^ is dated at Pondicherry on the 20th of Decem-
ber 1774. Though there is no mention of the author, he was presum-
ably some French officer whose general accuracy of information is
however well attested by his political review, of which the present
account forms part.

The commercial survey begins with Tata (Thatta in Sind) and
Bacar probably because the French at this time considered the
possibility of an expedition to India starting from these supposed
vantage points. According to this report, “Thatta and Bakar and
the region of Asmir (Ajmere?) abound in wheat, barley, cattle and
pasture lands. Multan provides only horses camels and the best wool
of the land. The district of Delhy is extremely fertile in all sorts of
grain. The district of Agra yields less of rice but it possesses exten-
sive commerce in textile, silk and gold and silver lace-work. Lahore
furnishes textiles, carpets, (plain or with floral designs) silk and
rock-salt. The region of Benares abounds in vegetables and grain
of all varieties. Very fine muslins, gold and silver threads, turbans
and waist bands highly prized throughout the East, are manufac-
tured there. One can -find there the superb woollen stuff of Kashmir.
Patna, Bengal, Dacca and the adjoining regions abound in cotton
and muslin, plain and embroidered, and of all varieties. One buys
here opium, borax, sugar, rice, wheat, manufactured silk and salt-
petre. Not only Patna offers the largest quantity of opium and the
best, hut one finds there rhubarb and musk which are imported from
Tibet. The region generally known as the suba of Bengal carries
on a considerable amount of commerce with the neighbouring

^ No. 201 of the Manuscripts in the Archives of Pondihcherry.

•23

peoples, specially with Assam. The commerce with Assam consists-
principally in carrying there 20,000 to 25,000 tons of salt every year
at a profit of 5 or 6 per cent. This commerce also comprises gold,
silver, ivory, musk, aloes-wood, gum, lac and silk (The golden silk
is not that crude stuff used for the manufacture of Mandagovttes^
which serve for the dress of Indians). This commerce has to be
carried on by the Indians or in their name, for the people of Assam
do not like to have anything to do with the Europeans. At Cuttack
which abounds in all kinds of grain there are several merchants
who carry on external trade with Maldives where they send rice
clothes of rougher quality, and silk, and receive in exchange ‘cowries’
.and amber. The ‘cowries’ are small shells which serve as small
coins in Bengal and are also much in demand by the negroes of the-
Guinea coast where they are exported by the Europeans.

Excepting this commerce with the Maladives, Assam and the
neighbouring regions, which is still carried on by the people of
Northern India, Bengal, Benares and Patna, the people are not in the
habit of carrying the wealth of their country to other countries.
They are occupied in manufacturing commodities and in supplying
them as cargo for the European vessels.

The entire country comprised under the name of the Deccan
generally abounds in cotton, textiles, plants necessary for dyeing,
and salt. They manufacture white cloths, dyed cloths and cloths
■with coloured design of all varieties, muslin, handkerchiefs and
gingham. The Deccan is one of the regions which specialise in fur-
nishing the most beautiful products in large quantity.

The area known as the Northern Deccan, that is to say the region
to the north of the Krishna and even the Condavir furnishes the-
most beautiful and the finest cloths. These are frequently printed'
or dyed but these have seldom painted designs. In this part of the
country are also manufactured, dimity, gingham and the handker-
chiefs which are the finest and best in respect of quality of thread,
texture and their dye. The interior of this region produces a large
quantity of rice and wheat, and the wheat of Golconda is the best in
Hindusthan. This kingdom offers a lucrative branch of commerce in
.diamonds which are the finest in the world but the cost of mining
must, have been undoubtedly excessive for the mines are now practi-
cally abandoned.

■ The Carnatic produces lesser .quantity of rice and food crops than
are' promised by the area and fertility of its soil. 'Cultivation is-
neglebted here and the greater part of the limited population that

•: =Tamil -word for the \mder clothes of -women. ' ~~7

24 z

istill lingers there is employed in manufactures. The people do not
’.manufacture any other form of fine cloths except what is intended
for being painted in varied colour of gold or silver. The . other
• cloths are all dyed and are used by the locaT people. They manu-
facture large quantity of haridkerchiefs of every quality, gingham,

' dimity of all varieties, and rough muslin. It is principally iii Madras
'that the finest painted clothes are made, their colour is of the gayest,
the designs are finely executed, and the colouring matter being of
the finest quality the paintings last largest. In Madras and its
neighbourhood are produced superb handkerchiefs, superior even to
those of Palicat. Cuddalore produces the finest dimity. The
Carnatic supplies a large quantity of salt and so does Tanjore which
was the granary of the Coroihandel coast.

In the district of Tanjore the author of this report records, the
same misery that he observed in the Carnatic. Yet he remarks that
the extensive and excellent cultivation of this region had not previ-
'ously prevented the development of various manufactures. The
inhabitants used to produce an immense quantity of cloths, inferior
to those of the North, but infinitely cheaper. A large quantity of
ginghams, dimity, rough muslin and handkerchiefs were also manu-
factured. Madura, Morava arid Tbndaiman, also produced rice and
-a large measure of rougher clothes for the use of common people.

The external commerce of the Coromandel is absolutely in the
hands of Europeans with the exception of a few Choulias of Naour,
Porto Novo and Orissa who riiake their ventures to Achem, Pegu,
Mergui, Siam, and Ceylon. They employ, for these voyages boats
•of 100 to 400 tons. Lead, iron, copper and rugs, bought from the
Europeans, along with indigenous clothes and cotton serve in pay-
ment of wood, arrack, cardamom and elephants etc., which. are sought
for in these territories. They also go to Ceylon in search of dried
fish, wood, and arrack and the voyages are made in boats of 20 to 40
tons.

The products of the Malabar coast consist principally of pepper,
•Cardamom, saridal, teak and Bith wood, cinnamon (much inferior to
that of Ceylon), ginger, cotton etc. The Bariians, Armenians, Jews
-and Arabs settled on this Coast once used to carry , on an exterisive
commerce with the Indian Archipelago, Siam, Arakan, Pegu, Bengal,
'Coromandel, the Persian gulf, the Red sea and even the east coast
of Africa. But how this coirirnerce is. absolutely iri the hands of
Europeans. The old regions arid their inhabitarits are restricted to
internal trade and coastal trade only. Still everyday the European
-establishments are encroaching on their only iheans of independent

"trade. The commercial survey is concluded with a mournful specu-
lation on the trading possibilities of the Marathas in the west coast,
if only they had not been entirely occupied in piracy. In that case
“Chaoul, DaboUl, Narzapour, Gueriah, Moulloudy etc., would become
irespectable marts and Surat could recover the ancient splendour
which has declined for several years.”

“But the troubles of the Delhi court, the Marhatta invasion, the
preponderance acquired by Europeans, the brigandage of the
Angriahs, and the form of sovereign control exercised there (in
..Surat) by the English have all contributed to the disappearance of
this grand mart of all the nations.”

Mr. R. C. Mitra is a Professor of History in- College be Bussy, Cha-ndemagore.
IHe is engaged in researches on the history of the French in India.

FATEH NAM A GURU KHALSA JI KA
[By Sita Ram Kohli]

This manuscript comprises three long ballads composed by one-
Ganesh Das to celebrate the three important victories won by the
Sikhs over the Pathans, namely the victory at Multan in 1818 A.D,-,.
near Tiri hills (Naushehra) in 1823, and at Saidu near Akora on the-
banks of the river Lunda in 1827.

The script is Gurmukhi, but the language is what may be des-
cribed as the Panjabised form of Western Hindi. ■ Here , and there,
we also come across Urdu and Persian words and also words and,
expressions used in the Oudhi Hindi. A few of the English and
French military terms which had found their way to the Court of
Maharaja Ranjit Singh also occur in these ballads.

The form and style adopted by Ganesh Das in his compositions-
is that of the classical Hindi bardic poets like Chandr Bardai and
Bhushan. Like them, he has used the Soratha, Sawayya, Doha,
Kabbita and Chaupai. Though not so often or so frequently, as in.
the poems of Bhushan, yet we do come across, in Ganesh Das’s
compositions the use of ounamatapoeic words and expressions and
here and there a pen-picture of feelings of joy or anger, courage or'
fear. But he is essentially a Panjabi poet and his language is what,
may be described as the Panjabised form of Western Hindi both
in regard to choice of words and grammatical construction. Ganesh
Das styles himself as Pingal. Beyond this, he does not tell us any-
thing about himself nor have I come across any other work of this
poet. It is also difficult to say to which part of the Punjab he
belonged. The use of a few words which are peculiar to the dialect
of the districts of Shahpur or Jhang would not justify the inference
that Ganesh Das hailed from the West Punjab. What was the Poet’s-
source of living is equally uncertain. I do not find Ganesh Das’s-
name among those of the upper grade employees of the Govern-
ment the lists of these names which are in my possession were
prepared after the examination of no less than 2,50,000 administrative-
papers of the Lahore Durbar (1810-49 A.D.). But the very minute-
events which he has mentioned in his composition leave no doubt
m my mind that Ganesh Das had free access to the Court. May be-
that he was one of the many Bhayyas who were expected to be
twenty-four hours near and about the person of Ranjit Singh and!

27 -

"were often employed on special errands and were borne on the
personal establishment of the Maharaja and paid out of the Sarf-i-
Huzur or his personal expenses.

The ballad relating to the Multan Yuddha is the longest of the
three. It comprises 277 couplets and is divided into five adhyas sor
cantos. Each adhya ends with a definite stage in the progress of the
hattle. The first adhya gives us the story of the fall of the walled
town of Multan and the retiring of the Nawab within the citadel.
The Sikh forces are then detailed by their General Misar Diwan
Chand, with a view to besiege the fort. They dug up trenches, threw
earth-works and also ran a couple of mines. The Nawab was given
the option of retiring from the fort of Multan to the town and fort
of Shujabad (twenty-three miles south of Multan) where he would
be left unmolested and in lieu of the loss of Multan he was promised
a decent Jagir by the Maharaja. But he' declined to accept the offer.
“To die with honour was a thousand times better than to live with
disgrace” — the aged Nawab observed in reply.

The siege then began in right earnest and both sides staked their
■all. Ganesh Das gives a lively pen-picture of the various encounters
which were fought between the advancing columns of the Lahore
troops and the grim defenders of the fort. The siege was prolonged
and the issue of the battle became doubtful. The summer season
too had advanced. Multan becomes hot like a furnace in the month
■of dime. The Maharaja personally looked to the regular and unfail-
ing supply of the munitions of war from Lahore and kept on
encouraging his troops with hopes and promises of rich rewards.
When the issue of the battle was hanging in the balance, the poet
introduces the divine element. The Muslim saints of Multan send a
deputation under Shams Tabrez, the holiest of them all, to Guru
Gobind Singh at his residence in the Paradise. The Pir pleads the
Muslim cause and requests the Sikh Guru to withdraw his forces
and let the Muslim rule continue in Multan for another two years
But the Guru was adamant and is represented by the poet to have
personally come all the way from Paradise to render help to his
followers. The tables then turned. The last assault made by the
■Sikhs carried every thing before it. The two “Suicidal Columns”
led by their intrepid leaders Sadhu Singh Nihang and Fateh Singh
Dutta rushed through the breaches and fell upon the garrison with
the suddenness of lightening. The aged Nawab with a number of
his kinsmen fell fighting near the Khizri gate of his palace and the
surviving members of the family surrendered themselves to th^
■victors. ' ^

The conquest of Mtiltan' (June 1818) brought a considerable:
accession to the territorial possessions of Ranjit Singh as also to his.
revenue resources. The province was estimated to yield an annual
income of Rs. 7,00,000. This was the second great victory of the;
Sikhs over the Pathans — the first being that of Haidro five years,
ago, when the great Wazir Fateh Khan Barakzai of Kabul was.
obliged to quit the field after suffering heavy losses and leaving the-
occupation of the strategic fort of Attock in the hands of Ranjit
Singh. Besides enhancing the military prestige of the Sikhs, these
two victories gave to the ruler of Lahore a commanding position in.
respect of the two great routes which ran from Central Asia to India^
The northern route passed through Khyber, Peshawar and Attock;
and the southern route entered India at Multan and passed on to-
Lahore via Pakpattan and to Delhi via Bhatinda.

The victory of Ranjit Singh over Mohammad Azim Khan of
Kabul (younger brother of the late Wazir Fateh Khan) forms the-
subject matter of the second ballad called “Peshawar Yuddha”..
This ballad has 111 couplets. This was the third great battle-
between the Afghans and the Sikhs which was fought in March
1823 near Naushehra and in which the heads of the two govern-
ments namely of Kabul and Lahore were present in person. Since-
1813, Ranjit Singh was steadily extending his dominions westward
beyond Attock and in 1818 he had even seized Peshawar from
Mohammad Azim’s younger brothers and had rendered them tribu-
taries of the Lahore Darbar. Azim Khan was smarting under the-
disgrace which his brothers Yar Mohammad and Sultan Mohammad,
had brought on the family by accepting the vassalage of Ranjit
Singh. He had therefore come prepared to settle the issue in a fight
to the end. Unfortunately for him, however, the fight ended in
favour of the Sikhs and Mohammad Azim Khan took his defeat
to heart so much so that he expired within two months of his'
disastrous retreat from Naushehra.

Ganesh Das gives a faithful description of the battle which was’-
fought near the hills of Tiri during the evening hours of the 14th
day of March. We are told how the Afghans had taken initial
advantage over the Sikhs by occupying the tops of a couple of
mounds and blocked their further progress in the direction of
Naushehra and Peshawar. In their first endeavour to dislodge the-
enemy from his entrenched position, the Sikhs had suffered serious
reverses and set-backs and had lost a dozen or so of their best
soldiers and officers like Baba Phoola Singh, Sardar Garbha Singh
and the Gurkha Captain Balbhadra. “A Sikh soldier”, observes the-
poet, was not sure of even the small piece of groxmd under his feet”:.

The rank and file had lost their morale and but for the sustained!
efforts of the Maharaja himself which he made for restoring confi-
dence in his men, it was likely that the Sikhs would have left the
field greatly humiliated. The forty-three years old Maharaja donned
his armour, took sword and spear in hand, mounted his favourite
steed and rode forward to give lead to his soldiers. This ultimately
turned the scales in favour of the Lahore troops. A general assault
was ordered from one side, whereas from the other the bombard-
ment of the position of the enemy was taken in hand by Prince Sher
Singh who was posted with his artillery across the Lundah river.
Azim Khan’s advance from Peshawar towards Naushehra was kept
in check by the Maharaja’s European Officers namely Allard and
Ventura. The Afghans lost their nerve but kept on the fight for a.
little while till they got an opportunity to run away under the cover
of darkness. The Maharaja then proceeded to Peshawar where be-
held public Darbar and on Yar Mohammad’s expressing sincere -
regret he was forgiven and reinstalled in the Government of
Peshawar as the nominee of the Lahore Darbar.

The third and the last of this series of ballads contain only 73
couplets. It narrates the story of the Jehad (religious war),
declared against the Sikhs by Khalifa Sayyad Ahmad 1827.
Originally a resident of Bareilly, Sayyad Ahmad had come to live
amongst the Afghans and had succeeded in gaining influence over
the tribesmen of Hazara, Swat and Yusafzai hills and posed as the-
“deliverer of Islam from the thraldom of the followers of Gobind
Singh”. He reminded them of their glorious past when their rule
had extended over the Punjab, Sirhand and Delhi and blamed and
taunted them for having surrendered all that to the Sikhs. He thus
worked their frenzy to the bursting point and the whole country
from Attock to Peshawar was up in arms. This made Ranjit Singh
apprehensive about his possessions in the trans-Indus region. Even
his own nominee Yar Mohammad Khan was persuaded to throw
in his lot with the Khalifa.

Ganesh Das narrates all the important incidents which happened
during the period of two months of the disturbances: the unexpected
mght-attack made on the rather exposed position of Sardar Budh
Singh Sindhanwalia’s small division and the brave and courageous
stand taken by the Sardar; Budh Singh’s retirement next mStog
t a safer and better fortified place near the fort of Jahangira' the

Afghans on the fortified poLion of
the Lahore troops by pouring down in large numbers through the
narrow and unfrequented pass of the Gidaragalla The ^
resorted to defensive measures and decided to bide thellir^rtS

Jaelp came from Lahore. The Khalifa got wind of their' plans and
hastened to launch his attack before fresh troops could come to
Budh Singh’s assistance.' Sardar was able to keep his wits about
him. He now resorted to his- armoury of diplomacy and succeeded
in weaning away Yar Mohammad Khan and a few others from their
.alliance with the Khalifa. They treacherously advised him to run
away from the field if he? wanted to save his life which he did. This
rendered it possible for the trained Sildb. troops to overpower the
untrained military of the Afghans. “The battalefield of the village
Saidu”, the poet observes “was strewn with dead and wounded. The
fleeing Afghans were massacred in thousands and an equally large
number was drowned in the rapid waters of the rivulet which flowed
close to the village.”

The victorious Khalsa- then moved to Peshawar where Yar
Mohammad Khan came, paid homage to Prince Sher Singh and
begged forgiveness for having joined the Khalifa. Ranjit Singh
was not yet ready to take possession of this un-remunerative pro-
vince and lock up a huge force to keep the Pathan in proper
subjection. Yar Mohammad was once again given charge of the
province of Peshawar and the Sikh troops returned to Lahore.

In composing these ballads, the poet seems to have been inspired
by patriotic and religious motives. Whenever he finds an occasion,
he tries to impress upon his reader that any one who recites or
listens to the recitation of these valiant deeds of his bretheren will
be rewarded with the usual divine graces of Dharm, Arth, Kama
and Moksha. It may also be mentioned in this connection that,
although Ganesh Das was inspired by. feelings of love for his own
people, he is not unjust to the enemy. He has not used a bitter or
a scornful word or expression for them nor has he underrated the
valour and the military skill of the Afghans.

The historical value of these ballads, is, indeed, great. I have
compared the details as well as the order and sequence of events as
given by Ganesh Das with those embodied in the books written by
the Court historians like Sohan Lai and Diwan Amar Nath, and I
was happy to find that all what he has said was confirmed by one
or another of the contemporary writers. • His accuracy is un-
challengable. Nor does any one else give such a detailed and full-,
some account of the battles as given by Ganesh Das. His ballads,
have raised in my general estimation the value of bardic literature
as a dependable source of contemporary history. His description
of the siege of Multanj the encounters with the forces of Khalifa
ayyad Ahmad dii the bank , of the Lun da. river and again of the

fierce encounters which the Sikhs had to fight at Tiri against the
Afghans, leaves an impression on the mind of the reader that the
poet was present near the scene of action. The actors in these
frightful dramas are made to file off before our eyes one after
another and we fancy we can still hear the cry of Wah Guru Ji Ka
Khalsa, Wah Guru Ji Ki Fateh— the cry with which they used to
encourage their comrades-in-arms at the time of an onslaught.

The pity is that the writer of the ballad has not cared to tell us
anything about himself. Like the Hindu writers of yore, Ganesh
Das seems to have been a believer in the principle of self-abnega-
tion.

Historical RecorcTSSsaion ^^1

A rCRUCHIKlPALLI GRANT OF VIJAYA RANGA CHOKKANlTHA

OF AIADBURAI

(By K. R. Venkataraman]

The Copper Plate discussed in this short paper was in the archives^ of
the Bar bar ofhoe of the former Pudokkottai State, and records a grant of
Vijaya Ranga Ohokkanabha Nayaka (1706-1732) of the Madhurai^ Nayaka
line. It is dited sa&a IGII — asvija {Bahula), corresponding to October
1722 (lines 1-2). Lines 3-6 mention Venkatadeva Maha aya — obviously
Venkata IV of Vijayanagar — with some of his imperial titles as ruling the world
seated on his jewelled throne in Ghanagiri (Penukonda). Lines 7-9 mention
that Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha Nay^anayya varu, belonging to the E&syapa
Ootra, Yajus askha is a «on of Ranga Krishna Muttuvirappa Nayanavani
(1682-89) and grandion of Ohoklcanatha Nayana varu (1659-1682) of the
line of Visvanabha Nayana (Nayaka). Ma'appa, son (?) of Surappa Na du
had endiwed lands in Kattalur and PeramburS which he had bought, for the
daily service in the shrines of Sura Pillaiyar (Gapesa) and Vira Durga (lines
10-14), which Avas condacted under the supervision of tAvo panddrams ( Saivite
monks). Wnen an inquiry was mads the pandarams were found to have
neglected the daily services, and a royal order Avas issued to Marappa to see
to their proper and regalar performance (linos 16-17). Matters did not impro-
ve, and the king summoned the residents of the locality, and in their presence
settled upon Ma'appa tAVO additional villages Kottappattu and Kolakattu-
patti* for the better performance of the temple services (lines 20-32). Tlie royal
sig lature and that of the writer, Rayasam Ramalingayya follow (lines 33-34)
with the usual verse that one who fosters and perpetuates a gift has greater
merit than the donor (lines 34-36).

This grant, followed by another® in iSaX:a 1649 (A.D. 1727) to the panddram
of the same temple, bears nut NeLon’s observation® that this Ruler ‘seems to
have been principally d'lstiagaished by the extraordinary and illregulated muni-
ficence of his gifts to Brahmans churches and religious institutions’. It is
further said of him that eveu ‘when he was told that the presents of jewellery
and other gifts he had made on a previous occasion were all missing, he
would not do so much as institute an enqiry into the malversation, biit
would repeat his donations’.’

^B3for0 tl\6 mergor of tho State, the present -writer had suggested the Sending of the
Plate to tho State Museum. The file in the Durbar office relating to this plate bore the
number D. Dis. 2731/3S.

“Spelling approved by the Government. MadJmrai fMadxira) : Tiruchirapalli
^Tri chinopoly ) .

“Villages in tho former Pudxikkottai State.

*2Tow indra. villages in the Tjruchirapalli taluk.

“Noticed by Sowell (C.P. No. 44) — List of Antiquities Madras Vol. H.
®T/ie Madura country p. 240.

. ’Sathianatha Aiyar, R; History of the Nayahs of Madura P. 230 f quoting Taylor!
Oriental Kistcrical Manuscripts), ^

Tkese skrines are close to the sonthern ramparts ot the fort (now disman-
tled) of Tiruchirapalli. Surappa and Marappa, both. {N ayahs), yf ere

^tde ntly officers connected ‘with the administration of the kort area.

The grant raises the important question when did Surappa acquire the lands
in Kattalur and Perdmbur ? These two villages were the head-quarters of a
pdlayam, one of those created in the 16th century , by Visvanatha Nayaka,
the founder of the line. The territory held by the Chief was a fief over which
he exercised all the rights of administration including the mainteirance of law
and order, and for the enjoyment of this position of prestige aud authority,
he paia the Nayaka a tribute of about a third of his income from land and
maintained an army for the service of the king. The pdlayahhdr (Polegar)
therefore could not have alienated the lands in his ovn headquarters, since no
part of a war alienable, though the king might, if he chose, dispossess

a and bestow his territory on another. To find the proper answer

to the question, it is necessary to recapitulate here some incidents, not ge-
imrally known, in the history of the reign of this Nayaka, that are told in
the letters ot La Mission de Madure and the old recoi ds of the Pudukkottai
State, basesd on which the history! of the State for this period has been written.
These incidents will throw much new light on the character of the reign.

pS Through some insidious intrigue, the Chief of Pei amhur -Kattalur 'fell
into disgrace in the court of Rani Mangammal, Regent (1689-1706) during the
mmority of Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha and was finally deprived of his
pdlayam about 1707 , by the young Ruler, who gave it as a personal appanage
Tondaiman of Kolattur, the younger brother of RaghunStha
Kaya Tondaiman, the founder of the Pudukkottai State. Namana was a
favourite of the Nayaka, and the tenure under which he held the Pei&mbur
Kattaturtract was different from that of a palayakkar. The alienation in
favour of Surappa must therefore have been made after 1707 by Namana
■himself or with his consent.

The neighbouring chiefs, the Lakkayya (Lakki) Kayakas of Kumaravddi
and theJBuchayya (Buchi) Nayakas of Murangapuri were in close alliance with
he Peranibur Kattalur chiefs, and by 1711 the Tondaiman brothers had
■subjugated them for the Madhurai Nayaka,

At that time the Madhurai Kingdom was exposed to dangers, both
internal and external, that threatened its very existence. Chikkr deva Raya

districts of the kingdom, and in
1696, sent his dalavdi Kumarayya to lay siege to the fort of Tiruchharalli.
A sudden mcursion of the Maratthas into the Mysore co'untry nece- sitated
the recall of the dalavai, which save d Tiruchirapalli from the horrors and priva-
tions of a prologned siege. The threat from Mysore had not completely pass-
ed, when in the east Raghunatha Tevar, better knovm as Kilavan Sotupati
declared the independence of Ramnad which comprise d the eastern districs
ot the Kingdom. Kilavan Setupati, who hed once captured Madhurai was
agmn spoiling for a fight until his death. The hostilty of the Mai at ha Ruler
of Tanjore and the Maravars ( f Ramnad menaced the kingdom on the east.
10 add to these troubles some of the lesser pdlayakkars we' e in open rerolt
Man ucci me n hons a l etter that Rani MangammaV v/rote to Baud KLan on

; writer’s A Manualof the Pudukkottai State-Yol. II Pal-

34 -

April 20, 1702, soliciting help to quell ‘the prince of Arupaliam’ (Udayar-
palaya m) , who in league with the Chiefs of Ariyalur Turaiyur and Valikanda-
puram, all situated to the north of Tiruchirapalli, refused payment of tribute
to the Nayaka. Raghunatha Raya Tonddaiman marched at the head of a
Nayaka force, and brought these palayakkars under subjection.

The liquidation of the perambur-Kattalur chiefship was the starting
point for the subjugation of a number of lesser chiefships that formed a hostile
ring round Tiruchirapalli, the pivotal centre of the defence of the kingdom.

Vijaya Ranga Chokkandtha shared his great ancestor Tirumala Nayaka^s
strength of religious convictions and love of charity, but lacked the latter’s
ability and statesmanship. He wa.s easily imposed upon by his avaricious
and corrupt ministers and dalavdis whom he could not keep under check. The
rot had set in, and none but an outstanding genius could save the tottering
State Madhurai. Poor Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha was not equal to the task
before him but it is palpably unfair to characterise him. as Nelson has done
probably on insufficient grounds, as ‘a vain, weak-minded Prince, utterly
unfitted to govern either himself or others’. The foregoing facts will not fail
to present him in a better light, and convince the reader that Vijaya Ranga
Chokkanatha was no faineant, and the energy and alacrity that he displaced
in quelling the turbulent palayakkars .round about Tiruchirapalli saved the
State for about quarter of a century and might have prolonged its ex-
istence for a further period, had not Bangdru Nayaka opposed the claims of
Rani Minakshi to the throne and Chanda Saheb’s intrigues abruptly terminated
the line of Madhurai Nayaks.

Mr. K. R.Verikataraman Ayyar vraa formerly Birootor of nnW.V ToRfxnoHon
and Hisfco^oal Record Officer of the late Rudukkottai State. As an Ordinary and Asso-
ciate member of the Indian Historical Records OommJnn.-or, - j

a Corresponding member after the merger of the State with

taking keen inferesb in the activities o^the Co^ss^n^^^ Ayyar 1^ been

ing Nicies in its annual sossioM- ^-oumussion and contributed several interest-

NOTES ON COMMUNICATIONS IN THE EARLY NINETEENTH

CENTURY

(By Arun Kumar Das Gupta)

The Old English Correspondence volumes available at the Ban-
hura District Record Office give us some idea of the means of com-
munication prevailing in the early nineteenth century. Although we
do not derive sufficient information to be able to form a clear picture
of the system of communication as a whole, we are none the less
in a position to throw light on the Government’s attitude to the
existing means of communication.

Among the various means of conveyance which prevailed during
the time of Akbar, Moreland mentions carts, pack animals, the palan-
quin, the ekka and the gari for use on land and boats and ships
for use on water. (India at the death of Akbar — ^Moreland pp. 166-
167). There is no reason to believe that the system underwent any
fundamental change until the introduction of the rail-road in the
middle of the nineteenth century. In connection with a report on the
Government Sarais ‘Carts and Cattle laden with property’ have been
mentioned (Letter to the Offg. Secretary, Government Judicial
Dept, dated, 1833). The elaborate regulations relating to the Ferry,
which appear in another letter (from Chief Secretary to Government
to Acting Superintendent of Police in Lower Provinces, dated 1819),
reveal that boats still served as a very important means of convey-
ance. Further from a letter from the Jt. Magistrate, Bankura to
the Junior Secretary, Government of Bengal, Judicial Department,
dated, August, 1846, we get the information that boats were used in
large numbers for transportation of coal.

The construction of metalled roads and the introduction of the
railways in the middle of the nineteenth century revolutionised the
means of communication in India. But even at the pre-rail stage the
British Government took care to improve the existing means of con-
veyance and established some sort of supervisory control over them
'This point can be established without difficulty.

In a letter from the Chief Secretary to Government to Actg.
Superintendent of Police in Lower Provinces (1819) a number of
regulations relating to the Ferry have been stated. First, the Superin
tendent of Police is to be in charge of Communication between Govern-
ment and Magistrates and Jt, Magistrates. Secondly, ’ Magistrates

and Jt. Magistrates are authorised to limit
extend the exemptions, regulate the numb>

They are further given the power of appoin
promulgation of new laws. Thirdly, regards
dared public, interferences of magistrates are to ... i ^
of Police. Majhees, who endanger life and property .
boats in order or overburdening may be punished. Fc
are generally exempted from payment of any tax '

Government. This regulation is intended mainly for ‘ ,
efficiency of the Police and the safety and convenienc.
munity”. Fifthly, no ferries are to be assessed on accoui '
ment except such as after providing fully for the safety
nience of the public, and securing a liberal remuneration
son in charge may appear to be so productive as to warrant tL I
demand of a share of the profits for Government which share is ex-
tensively to be employed in repairing and constructing roads, bridges
and drains, and otherwise, in facilitating the transit of property and
the convenience of travellers. Sixthly, very few and the most pro]
ductive ferries are to be taxed and even then the objects are to b]
explained to remove unpopularity. Seventhly, persons in charge o
the public ferries are to be requested to pass free of tolls troops witl
military store and baggages, native police officers and bonafide pubU

servants. j

Evidently the authorities intended to extend their control over tlj
Ferry without causing any damage to a pruiitable source of reveni,
which it was. The income derived from this source was agal
employed, as stated in regulation No. 5, in “repairing and constructh
roads, bridges and drains, and oih.erwise in facilitating the transit j
property and the convenience of travellers”. j

Further, from a loiter addressed to the OlTg. Secretary, Gove
ment Judicial Department, dated IC.'lo. we come to knov/ that
Sarais. both official and non-oilicial. occupied an important posit
in the system of communication. It appears th.at the Sarais w
built along the New Road, "the great medium of communicat
between the Presidency and the Upper Provinces", th.e safety of wl
was “of the utmost importance”. “The primary object of the Gov.
ment Surraes was to aiVord travellers in general, a nocturnal asy

free of expense." They were "well adapted to accommo

travellers of every persuasion, and particularly to protect the prop

of merchants frequenting the New Road ". "All the Go\

ment surraes were apparently similar in construction

enclosure between the outer and inner w.Ul and th.e square i]
affording a safe position for carts and cattle, laden with prope
They were generally safe from dacoits. In case they were aitt

“its inmates and the adjoining chuttee would be alarmed ere the
Robbers would gain access within the walls”. In the District of
Damghur about 100/150 persons resorted to each sarai every night.
Although the pilgrims , generally frequented the Government sarais
where they existed, the traveller in comfortable circumstances had
the option' of putting up at a moodee’s shop. The needy travellers
were very often compelled to sleep under the trees as they could not
“afford the usual charge made by the Moodies of 1 pice for lodging
and fire-wood, exclusive of the price of food”. The Government
Sarais were put under the supervision of the Dy. Postmasters of the
Districts.

The sarais and the chuttees were thus institutions of immense
value because they greatly facilitated long distance movement of
goods and persons. But that was not enough. The full utilisation
of the means of communication depended on an essential pre-condi-
tion viz. security in the countryside. That the Government was
aware of this situation is proved by the fact that the Superintendent
of Police was put in charge of communication between Govern-
ment and Magistrates and Jt. Magistrates (Ferry regulation No. 1).

One peculiar feature of the letters available at the Bankura Re-
cord Office is that a large number of them, especially those of
Mr. Blunt, the Collector of Bankura, refer to continuous and wide-
spread lawlessness. In spite of numerous expeditions undertaken by
the authorities the disturbances continued. This was partly due to
the turbulence of the local inhabitants but partly again to the ineffi-
ciency of the local police. The Jt. Magistrate of Gurbeytah writes
in course of a letter (dated, 1847) to the Jt. Magistrate of Bankura
that the local police-men, some of whom were Jaygeerdars, were
totally inefficient. Moreover, according to him, they themselves were
always perpetrators of the numerous crimes committed in the
Thannah of Bissenpore. The evidence of the convictions during the
year 1846 indicate that these policemen were definitely in league with
the “Dacoits and Budmashes”; when such was the condition of law
and order in the countryside can it not be reasonably inferred that
the travellers and the merchants and the pilgrims could hardly uti-
lise to the full even the small facilities provided by the Ferrv the
New Road and the Sarais? ’

GANGADHAE SHASTEI

(By Dr. Kalikinkar Datta)

In a paper read at the Twenty-third session of the Indian ^His-
torical Records Commission, Rao Bahadur Sardar M. V. Kibe dis-^
cussed the identity of Gangadhar Shastri, income of whose territorial^'
property of some villages in U.P. was utilised for the establishment '
of the Agra College. Recently I managed to secure through P^dit '
Vishnulal Shastri, a Research Assistant of mine, transcripts of some '
old papers from village KacharP in the Aurangabad sub-division of
Gaya district in Bihar which show that Pandit Gangadhar Shastri
was an inhabitant of this village. These papers were found in the^
possession of the descendants of Pandit Gangadhar Shastri, who- are
still residing in this village. I have selected for study here only
those few which are of historical interest. •' , .

Gangadhar Shastri was born in the middle of the eighteenth cen-
tury. He completed his Sanskritic studies at Nadia in Bengal and
acquired considerable proficiency in astrology. His fame in -this
respect reached the Gwalior darbar through one Bhau Bakshi and
one Abha Chitnavis, the latter being an inhabitant of Gwalior, then
employed in the service of the Nawab of Daudnagar (Gaya district)
and he was appointed there on a handsome remuneration of Es. 5,000
(a month®), Daulat Rao Sindhia granted him seven villages in
Eglas taluq in Aligarh district rent-free as a reward for some
propitious astrological performances by him to the interest of the
Sindhia.®

On the death of Gangadhar Shastri, the Company's Government
decided that one-fourth of the income from his property in Eglas
taluq amounting to Rs. 2,589 would go to his heirs and three-fourtte
amounting to Rs. 7,767 were to be utilised for "public and charitable
purposes”'*. It is clear® that the latter amount was “afterwards
appropriated to the use of the college at Agra.”

(1) Vide Appendix.

(2) Appendix ‘A’.

(3) Appendix ‘B*.

(4) Appendix (Q).

(6) Appendix ‘TEL’, and Fiuher’s Memoir quoted. *

* Sharp, Soleotions from Edueationai Bedords Part I,.P3. 185-186.

APPENDIX A

■Copy of the appointment letter from Maharaja Madho Itao

8indhia of Gwalior

'Tf^ ^3ft7q--^nrr w ^ 3T#^

-yf^rm 2f^ spirnr sTTf^ffir ^ str am^ ^Rwr'c

^ smrr^ % arr^ ^ ^t^tr: [#' Trrwir w

^ armr f i anwr stirtt ^cff Rr cr^iR^iflr sTRr^'^t^

% ^|f fr ^iwr w % ?TriT^% srpfrr^^ ri%

rf armt ^rcR ^ ^RT aTR STT^ ^r ^r [^Fwr ’Tdi^b'ra

^RR •yi^ci % ^ =1 u1<. ^RR %

sTFi^ RR ^ RRt t ?ft srrq- ^ arrRirr ^

^ ^RTf f arrq^ feRR ^ Tfir #

an#iT ts^ sTFr^ # an^-^ 'r ftw afR »rr

^^erariR Kooo ^r <^<R^r arrq^

HR+R ?ff ^^RR w arrq^'t fw anw ar^r ^^-’

APPENDIX A

Seal of Scindia Bahadur Madhav Rao

Hail prosperous, the most exalted, repository of all virtues,
learned in the Vedas and the Shastras, honoured by the State, the
Splendour of the kingdom, Sri Pandit Gangadhar; may you accept
the obeisances of exalted Maharaj Madhav Rao Scindia. All is well
here. Further, detailed news about you have been known to us
through Bhau Bakhshi and Aba Chitnavis. For this reason His
Highness is agreeable to calling you here. You cannot come here
-from that place without a permit from Nawab Asaf-ud-daulah Bahadur.
Consequently, a kharita has been sent to the Nawab through Aba
Chitnavis. He will bring you here after obtaining necessary per-
mission. We are agreeable to bear all your expenses as per letter
•of the Nawab Sahib. We are, therefore, sending a letter to you
bearing our seal in this connection. So please come here. Details
lof expenses for the interview are acceptable to His Highness’ Govern-
ment. His Highness with his retinue will travel one Kos to receive
you. Besides, you will be given a seat near the throne. From this

date you will be paid Rs. 5,000 monthly for your expenses. You wilt,';
always secure this sum as agreed upon by my government. The m=<-
is alright. Mti Chait Sudi 5, Samvat 1845.

Miti Chait Sudi 5, Samvat 1845

Sd. Raja Scindia Bahadur Madhav Rao Singh. '

(Translation same as in proceedings of the Indian Historicaf^ ■
Records Commission 23rd Session, p. 61.).

APPENDIX B

Copy of a Sanad granted to Pt. Gangadhar Shastri by Daulgt '
Poo of Gwalior for villages in Eglas Taluq in Aligarh in
Samrat 1853.

^ tfiRrsr ^

% ^ ?rfT^ ^ crrw% ^

^ ^ ariftr^Pir fp? ^ ^

^ rprm Tfer first ^ ^ t

'T3rr ^ w WT # 3Tfwr ^ | afh- '

^ arr^ str ^ st^ Trt f < t ^

q[RR artr ^ ^ ^ ^

fR- ^ |ed+'^ie» ^ ^ ^ ^ #

sftT 2 ftT wr TR I f^ytarsnt ^
fiisRr ^ ^Frrar ^rrERi^af^ ^ tr ^tpr ^it m ^

^ 3ftT ?ffiRTT ^ ^ ^ ^iRS THTFl PtsfffiRT ?R

?r^cr w ^ ffR TfecRf ^ #1? ^ ^ 4 ^tp: t gw

gr Mr gf ggrpr g ilgr ^ ^ ^ ,

wrtPif # ^ ^ fgRTC ^ gRffRR tcT ^ gr f gpr

^ gw g grw

? gwiggft ? '%

t gfg ? Tft# gltr 5 ^ ?

gggig m\<h •fgt.MK ^ fggR g<^' fgg^ gr ^igig
g^ giggfeg'^. #f^g ,gt wr^

gpR %r -fgfg gRR g€r ;?? ggg

English version of Appendix ‘B’

Shri Maharajdhiraj Alijah Subedarji Shri Daulat Raoji Sindhia
Bahadur does hereby grant this Sanad to the great scholar Shri
Gangadhar Mishra son of Devanarain Mishra of village in Eglas
Taluq, Pargana Haveli, Suba Akbarabad. Let it be known hereby
to all the officers employed now or in future that the said Pandit has
offered pujas and benedictions for the welfare of His Higness who
has been pleased to grant him these villages so that he may meet the
expenses of the Brahmins, students and guests coming to him.
These villages are granted to him with all their rights including those
that accrue from water, grass, forest and stone-querries, and free
from Begar, Peshkash, Nazarana, etc.,' so that while enjoying the
profits of these villages he may offer blessings for the welfare of His
Highness. All the officers are directed to act according to this
written order.

List of villages :

1. Village Eglas.

2. Village Bhilpur.

3. Village Asahar.

4. Village Sitapur.

5. Village Karthala.

6. Village Gidauli (Gandauli).

7. Village Lalpur.

APPENDIX 0

Copy of a Sanad of village Kahada under Sahfdkawnabad
granted to Pandit QangadJiar Sastri of village KanTiari in gaya
District by Daulat JRau Sindhia in Samvat 1861.

^ V?: ^ ^f^R5T-

^ wPTTcr ^ ft ^ ^

3F5f ^ ^ ^ f% 3mfk?r5[ % ww

^a: %w: Ir ^ ^ ^ w^ ^ w

wrft w ^ tTRfl^ sfR 5it^ JTpji^ ^ «ic|^'i ,< r;/

7^ mT^ ^ %^i\ "

APPENDIX D

Copy of document of mauzajhvdavai granted to Pt. Qangadhar
Sastri hy Maharaja Madho Eao Sindhia, in Samvat 1861.

# TIfRRTfkrsr TT^ITR??^ JT^TTR ^ ^rgw TR" #

fl^y^ sTMtsrr^ ^ % ?nR ft^rr ^

% ^^75^ =9^ ^

qr^ TR ^ ’TRt TR t ^ =>™k

q^ fR fq^TPR fl'<w^d ?rr^^<WY % ^ft

3nx I; ^ ’TR iRRjTw gsrr iJtf fR ^ft *|t«KH sRf hr \

qr# 3TT#RK ^ ^ sfR ^ ^ ^ ?RTFrf

?R Tft ^ifR’d dq^ft sftT ^ ^ ?r? ^ W qid ^

dl'f'tq 'jftq ^q" ^I4iq> srst ^ ^JiqqT

ftft qrti^qfV <^#1^ \6‘^^^

APPENDIX ‘E’

The Hon’ble

N. B. Edmonstone Esqr.,

Vice-President in Council)

Fort William.

Hon’ble Secretary,

Kev. Dept.

We do ourselves the honour to submit for the consideration of
Government copies of a correspondence with the Collector of Ally-
gurh relative to seven villages under the denomination of Talooka
Eglas hitherto held free of rent by the late Gtmgadhar Pundit
together with a Translate of the sannud produced by his heirs and
which from the attestation of Mr. Cunyhgham bearing date the ‘9th
January, 1804, appears to have been produced by the Grantee at' the
first introduction of the British Government into these province's. -

43 *

This grant has already been noticed in our address of the 16th;
September, 1814, in regard to other lands similarly held by the de-..
ceased in the district of Agra and as this grant is similarly condi-
tional for the education of pupils and the distribution of alms exclu-
sive of the maintenance of the grantee himself we beg leave to
suggest that three-fourths of the produce of the lands be similarly
appropriated under the superintendence of the Magistrates and.
CoUeetor to the public benefits contemplated by it. The produce of,
the lands is estimated at Rs. 10,356.

Board of Commissioners
Furrokabad,

The *30th Oct., 1815.

I have etc. etc.

(Sd.) E, Colebrooke,
Board of Commissioners,-,
the 6th February, 1816,
True copy
(Sd.) M. Moore,

Secretary,;

APPENDIX ‘F’

The Local Agents,

At Allygurh.

Gentleman,

The Right Hon’ble the Governor General in Coimcil having
been pleased imder date 5th ultimo to authorize the appropriation
of a portion of the produce from the lands formerly held by the
late Gimgadhar Pundit amormting to Rs. 7,768 (or 7,767) to public •
and charitable purposes I am directed by the Board of Commission-
ers to desire that you will superintend the administration of the .
concern.

For your further information a copy of the Board’s address to the ..
Government with an extract from a letter from the acting Secretary.-
to Government in reply is herewith forwarded.

Board of Commissioners,

Furrokabad, the 6th Feb., 1816.

I have, etc. etc.

(Sd.) M. Moore.

Secretary^

* 13 October 1816 vide Home Dept. (Education Branch August 1882 No. 43. '

APPENDIX G

Extract of a letter from the Acting Secretary to Gov.erhirieni^t^:
Finance Department dated 5th January 1816. -

Para 2. «

As the suniiud under which the lands in the district of AUygurhV
were holden by the late Gangadhar Pundit appears to be autH'entiey
and to have been produced by the Grantee on the first introduction ph
the British Government into that district the Governor General in
Council is pleased to authorize the appropriation of the produce , of
the lands in question which is estimated at Rs. 10,356 as suggested:
by you.

3, Under this arrangement one-fourth will be appropriated for;

the heirs of Gungadhar Pundit 2589 and three-fourths to.

public and charitable purposes 7767

4. It is considered to be preferable to commit the administration'
of this concern to the Collector and Registrar of the district .of
Allygurh in the capacity of Local Agents instead of associating the;
Magistrate with the Collector for this purpose as proposed by you.
You will therefore be pleased to issue the necessary instructions to
the local Agents.

Board of Commissionersi'

The 6th February, 1816.

True extract. ..>'1
(Sd.) M. Moore-’-

Secretary.

APPENDIX ‘H’

C. Macsween Esqr.,

Commissioner of Revenue
for the Division of Agra

Sir,

I have the honpur to forward my proceedings on the claim of.-th^'y
heirs of Gungadhar Pundit deceased, to the amount in deposit front:.;
tte receipts of Talooqa Englas from the period of attachment by- thev:
Collector to the date in which the orders of Government authorizing?
the appropriation of the produce was enforced. . .

The heirs of the deceased Pundit presented their petition to the
IBoard of Revenue who on the 23rd February 1816 and 5th September
1817, called on the Collector to report, by some oversight the report
Tvas never furnished. The heirs of Gungadhar have frequently
importuned me and when forming the Settlement of Talooqa Eglas
the year before last under the provisions of Regulations 7 of 1882 I
promised to report their claim to the Commissioner; pressure of
business has delayed it till now.

On the introduction of the British Government Talooqa Eglas was
held rent free by Gungadhar Pundit: in Ughum 1221F Gungadhar
died* in consequence of disputes amongst the sons of the Pundit the
collector on the 3rd October 1814 corresponding with 4 Koar 1222 F
attached the estates reporting the circumstances to the Board on the
25th March, 1815; on the 5th January 1816 the Government autho-
rized the produce of the Talooqa to be appropriated as follows:

One-fourth to the heirs of Gungadhar Pandit, three-fourths to
charitable and public purposes. These orders were transmitted by
the Board on the 6th February 1816 and enforced as appears by the
Robakaree of the Collector on the 28th February 1816 corresponding
wit;h 16 Fagoon 1223 F.

The enquiries instituted by the Collector to learn what dis-
bursement has been made by the heirs of the Pundit between the
period of their father’s death and the orders of Government for re-
suming I of the produce of the estate afterwards appropriated to the
use of the college at Agra and the following is the sums expended.

On acct. of a On acct. of Total

Seminary

fOT teaching Charity
Bede (Veda)

Shastrer

1221

1222

6,496 9 3 4,994 5 0 11,490 14 3

6,567 16 0 5.839 12 g 12,427 11 9

1223

1224

7j98 0 3 6,200 9 9 13^393 jq ^
4,418 9 9 4^439 g 0 8,857 11 3

As it may appear inconsistent that so lone a sum 1

pended whilst the collection of Talooaa Ealas nAxro ^ yearly ex-
more ttarr 10,000 Mpees it is neoes a?? hS t

tion to Ta^,a Egl^a^ Chau'ndaree “ aTSmml ‘

-_(2) Hied in December 1813.
No. 43.

HomeDapfe (Education) Proceedings,

Agra were held by the heirs of the Pundit to meet the above
expenditure. ■

AUyghur Collectorship

The 14th August, 1831

(Sd.) M. 1^

Actmg CbnectoH

Dr. E.E. Datta is professor and Head of the Department of History;' •'Patiia
College and an Associate member of the Commission on behalf of the Qovenmient'bf
Bihar. He is the Convener of the Bihar Regional Records Survey CoBc^ttee
Sot up by the Indian Historical Records Commission. He Has several historic^
■works of ontotandtog merit to his credit all based on the study of original documents;’

A FRESH ‘PATtA’ OF THE TIME OP THE LAST CHAUHAH RULER OF

SAME ALPUR — ATH ARAGARH .

[By L. P. Pandeya.]

For the Trivandrum session of the 1. H.R.C. an article entitled “Two palm
leaf Pattas of the time of the last Chauhan Ruler of Sambalpur Atharagarh
was contributed by me. It appears in the Proceedings of the Meetings Vol.
SIX pp 111-114, December 1942.

Quite recently I have came across a fresh Patta written .in Hindi language
■and Devanagari script from the Sarsiwan Tract, formerly in the Bilaspur
District and now in the Raipur District of Madhya Pradesh.

The Sarsiwan tract is a Hindi speeking tract and formerly consisted of a
group of about 42 villages called “Sarsiwan Biyalisi”. This tract used to be
administered by the Chauhan Maharajas of Samblapur, who were lords of 18
garbs under the Sambalpur Raj. The Sambalpur Raj was at that time a
bi-Ungual administrative unit as it were.

To the N.W. of it, lay the Chandrapur Taluq consisting of about 175
villages and the Sarsiwan tract referred to above, where people spoke<Lari<r
(Hindi) as disticguished from ‘Oriya’ which was, and still is the comruon
language of entire Sambalpur Raj . Laria is another name for “Ohhajbisgarhi”
the spoken language of Chhattisgarh {meaning a land of 36 forts of whichi it
comprised in olden days.)

According to the late Dr. Sir G. A. Grierson’s “Linguistic Survey of India”
Ohhatisgarhi or Lariya is a dialect of Eastern Hindi.

The present Hindi Patta was meant for a village ‘Amalidih’ lying in the
Sarsiwan tract adjoining the present Sarangarh Sub-Division of Raigarh district.
The Hindi Patta is a proof of the fact that the languaj e of the people was duly
respected and recognised by the liberal and wise policy of the Chauhan Rulers
of. the time. It is also an exainple of administrative expediency, ijhe
Patta is written in Hindi on a thin yellow coloured piece of paper. The ijop
poi;tion contains the royal emblem ^ (discus). It is in 16 lines and is didy
doted in Vikram Samvat 1893=1837 A.D. The signature of the Ruler ialn
Oriya script at the end of the document.

The village of ‘Amalidiah, was leasee for two years, i. e. 1894 and 1895
Vikram. For 1894 the village was granted (Rrvenue free) while W
the year 1895, the revenue was fixed at Rs. 15/.m Nagpuri silver coins to be
paid in one kist or instalment. At the expiry of the lease period, the Patta
in original was to be returned to the Hazur (the Ruler).

The text of the patta is reproduced below : -

I ^ #

! Jsrt ' 4 !

( % . r ■

j JTlsrr ^^srr q^ ?f^

I Tf'T ^Trr<T?r ^riT^ ?{% ^ ^ ^srr *i^. .

dtw r^T-fT^rr 3?^TT ^ ^iTcT ?<;%Y qnf ^tt# ^-z'
j ?<i’A ^ ?rT*T<Tft warr irqr fecT

JT> #^q> q>ftTr ^ ^^cqnr qrr fqrq ^sft^ ^

^ -o vs- _ "l

ffe ^ 5ft ^ % qw €t ^ q><tif
^ sTRifr sft qrr ^3^ fWR airrt '

qr q^TT ^ ^rfw tj^kt 4tcft amnr ^

I •»

■f

(la^ff^ script) '

Ij.V. Pandeya is an Assoeiato mombOT of the Indian Historical Heoonla
Comniiesion representing the Mohakosbal Historical Society. Bilaspuj. iMadhvai
[Pradesh).

DANGER TO JHANSI IN 1774-75

(By T. S. Shejwalkar)

The precariousness of Maratha rule in Northern India has not
been properly understood by historians, to judge from their writings.
It was a continuous struggle which lasted up to the end of Maratha
rule. Scarcely a year passed without some trouble cropping up
somewhere, necessitating a military expedition. Posts changed hands
so many times that it becomes a difficult matter to give a continuous
history of the whole region. This state continued even after the
advent of British rule, till 1860. Jhansi, which had become the key-
post for Maratha rule in Bundelkhand, stood in constant danger of
being taken by the enemies. It had been lost after Panipat and
retaken after four years by Malharrao Holkar. Since 1770, it was
under the command of Raghunath Hari Nevalkar, who found it
difficult to hold, surrounded as he was by redoubtable enemies Shuja-
ud-daula of Oudh, the Ruhelas, the Jats, the Bundela Rajas, the
Gujars, the Rajputs, besides agents of the Delhi Emperor, were now
and then thinking of occupying this important post. Hearing of
the murder of Narayanrao Peshwa, Shuja had sent one Mir Naim,^
at the end of 1773, to occupy lands south of the river Jumna, but
he was defeated at great cost by the Commandant of Jhansi and
other Maratha Captains in the vicinity. The Vazir had defeated the
Ruhelas with the help of the English battalions . thereafter and
occupied lands in the Doab belonging to the Marathas. He met
Mix'za Najaf Khan the Commander of the forces of Shah Alam at
Etawah and settled the future line of ousting the Marathas in con-
sultation with him on 27th February, 1774. Anupgir Gosavi^ rented
the lands in the Doab for Rs. 51 lacs from Shuja, who ordered him to
cross the Jumna if the civil war begun by Peshwa Raghoba in the
Deccan continued fruther. He sent his assistance against the
Maratha posts, Mirachgir to Jhansi and Shinggir to Gulsarai.^ They in-
vested these posts at the end of 1774. Raghunath Hari found himself
in great danger, and was at his wit’s end how to meet it and whence
to find the money to carry on the operations. Seeing the Gosavi
troops in overwhelming force, the local rebels raised their heads and
stopped payment of revenues to the Marathas. They began to occupy
one post after another and loot the region. Besides Jhansi, Gwalior

IPD 29-281.

2PD 29-280.

®PD 29-279.

and Kalpi were the two other Maratha posts in similar danger, but
the Gosavis were particularly against Jhansi, as they had been
driven away from it after it had remained in their charge for a
number of years. The Gosavi troops^ are reported to have been some
15,000, while Raghunath Hari had 2,500 horse and 3,000 infantry with
which to defend not only the fort, but the surrounding region on
which it depended for provisions and succour. We have found .out a
copy of a letter written to Raghrmath Hari by Tryambakrao Apaji
Shrikhande on 12th November 1774 before the siege started. This
Tryambakrao appears to be an unnoticed notable of the period.
Possibly he was a relation of the Nevalkar family of Parola in East
Khandesh and was a Kamavisdar of the Holkars of Indore.^ His
place of residence was the important fortalice of Thalner on the
north bank of the river Tapti in west Khandesh. A vigorous Marathi
writer with good Sanskrit education, his letter shows particular
loyalty and friendship for the Nevalkar family in general and
Raghunath Hari of Jhansi in particular. Raghunath Hari had sent
letters to all Maratha Sardars as well as to the Central Government
at Poona then conducted by Sakharam Bapu and Nana Fadnis. The
Central Government found it difficult to defend its precarious position
against Raghoba, who was sojourning in Central India and carrying
on talks with Mahadji Shinde and Tukoji Holkar that they might
join him in his adventure of becoming the Peshwa. Naturally the
Centre could do nothing for outlying posts like Jhansi at this junc-
ture. Raghunath Hari therefore asked for support from local
captains in Central India and he found a staunch supporter in this
Tryambakrao Apaji who writes from Kanar near Shajapur as
follows^ : —

“Your letter of 21 Saban received on 2 Ramzan and the contents
noted. Your letter was received after the army had taken posse-
ssion of Ujjain and begun its march forward. I was personally
however still at Ujjain for some talks at the Darbar. Your anxiety
as expressed in your letter is appropriate enough. What you had
written on account of delay from this side was perfectly true. But
we had already been caught in the mesh and therefore could- not act
according to your hint. We have begun the march of the army and
God willing shall reach Sironj till Kartik Vadya 2, with 2000 troops.

I am writing this at a distance of 20 Kos from Ujjain. Just as 'you
have defended 'your side up to now, you should - continue .to do it
for some two or three weeks more, (till we reach the destination).
Bhausaheb, you have exhibited the greatest courage up till now and

IPD 29-282.

-Rayarikar Collection (Manuscript).
“Navalkar Collection (Manuscript).

51 -

should not lose courage for a further short time. God has brought
the matters to a pass when the enemy will surely be defeated.
Shrimant Tukoji Holkar has arrived at Indore. He has met Shrimant '
Patil Bawa (Mahadji Shinde) at our request. Tukoji’s nephew
Bapu Holkar and Mahadji’s relation Bahirji Takpir, with 5000 horse
and 10,000 Pendharis, have started. Provision for 8,000 more
Pendhari troops has also been made on oath. Express despatches
have been sent to Bahirji on Kartik Shuddha 5. I have given full’
information of the state of affairs in Bundelkhand about the Jatila
(i.e. Gosavi) invasion to Patil Bawa and convinced him about the
danger. I have started as a vanguard with 2000 horse with full '
authority for the conduct of the campaign in my name. How hard'

I have worked to get the force started, God only knows. I have
accepted the burden for draft worth Rs. 50,000 on my own responsi-
bility to be paid at Sironj and will be relieved of this burden either
by you or God. What I have done with full heart in the matter
can be understood by you only. The troops are of the best quality
with good arms and ammunition. Jagannathrao Mane, brother of
Ghanashyam Mane (is in charge of these troops). I have not acted'
merely as a Vakil on your part in this affair, but have stood as ‘
Raghunathrao himself, taking the whole burden on myself, when the
nation (the people) has raised its head and begun to move. You
know that Patil Bawa has no particular care for this side and there-
fore it should be clear how much he can do for us! All these affairs '
cannot be put down in writing. I have started correspondence with
the Chief of Goliad from this place and have spared no effort for'
attaining your end. Only God can now crown our efforts with
success. You should not lose courage, depending on the news from •
the Gosavi. Understand that I am reaching your place in a short
time. If you came to Sironj with the necessary funds so far so good,
otherwise you should send some responsible man of full confidence
with the necessary money. If your coming to Sironj is likely to
derange matters there and loosen your authority, you should not.’
come if you care. But the provision of money, if made without loss
of time, will bear instantaneous fruit. The troops are pestering me
here and not you. Knowing this, you should relieve me from this
quandary and save me from any untoward happening at the hands
of the troops. Knowing that you are in imminent danger, and the '
empire has entered in troublous times, I have offered myself as' a ■
victim to this cause, because without such a step no other remedy
was open to us. If we- turn our face at such a juncture, then when
can we be of any use to men like you? I have' become a partner in' •
your difficulty. God only can reward me in the end. As I am your ‘
well-wisher, further writing about this is superfluous. For the last
three weeks I have fallen in this pit. Henceforward we should-
act according to the circumstances and what we think needful. '

Even if you send the money, it is not certain that the p'osts^ occtipied
by the enemy will at once fall into our hands. Blit' 'some '40-50,
families of the Marathas are living as if imprisoned in them; We
should send them to Sironj, and looting the enemy territory, bring
him down. Thinking like thic, I have offered money accoj-ding to
the wishes of the Sardars (Shinde and Holkar). Writing % Trhu-
bakrao (Odhekar) I have called the horsemen and he has made the;;
army start on its journey after great exertions. But no body ‘^khows;
what will happen to this post before your money is received'-rml
Sironj and the army reaches this place. Sonari lies some flve/si:^
Kos from this place. Bhaskar Jagannath Dhavadshikar wastfeihj
charge of that post. It was invested by the ' army from Datia::;;|r;
sent my horsemen who drove away that investing army. We 'have:
killed .some fifty soldiers there, amongst which one notable Thaki^jS
a near relation of the Chief of Datia, was one, whereupon the ,]^ja'_:
of Datia himself came with an army of 4000 together with cahnori';
and attacked the post. But the men inside the fortress were ‘select^
and Bhaskar Jagannath is also a valiant man. They repulsed ''the;
attack in which some 100-150 men of the enemy lost their 'lives.'';
Dhavadshikar also lost some fifteen men. By the enemy’s bombard-^
ment, the fortress is damaged and it was not proof against "'cthe^
enemy's attack. We could not support him because we are a ydry^
small party. As the Raja was intent on taking the fort there
little possibility of the said Dhavadshikar escaping with his ilife:
from that place. But God has saved him, as the Raja took' fright^
of our coming and bolted from the place. Really speaking 'we '-had;
little strength. But when the captains in charge of - HH?:;
fortress opened talks with the surrounding force, one on the enemy’s
side allowed Dhavadshikar to get out safely with his men for.spm^-
consideration. A great disaster has been averted. Up till liowf.we;
have not lost in the skirmishes that have taken place, but as there
is no money for daily expenses, the men in the army have become*
most depressed. Balajipant Baba (Kher Bundele) was also suffering
from the same difficulty. As we could not pay, our army . lost^^aff
hope. For the last four months we are pulling on in this condition
In the meanwhile the enemy is proceeding leisurely from ohetpoSt
to another. As soon as the provisions were exhausted, therpostfbad
to be vacated. In this manner we have vacated five posts;'- aftof
holding out according to our strength for some time,- Now; tliejfort;
(?) has been surrounded by the enemy. If within a fortnight hr.;:a
month at most succour does not reach from the Sardars, the-ftitdf^;
is dark. Who can tell what will happen next if: the fort; is: losU
I have been placed between two mill-stones. "What. you have'-^itiin
enough. But under the present circumstances returning 1%
the Deccan will not improve matters. Very likely .we will-find'diiff
selves in worse condition (in the Civil War between Raghobailai^

the B^bhais). So I have decided to continue in our present condi-
tion and I am prepared for the worst that may happen here.
Blessings to you.”

We have thought it necessary to translate the whole letter because
it gives an inside view of the matters going on then. Jhansi was
not still completely invested and the whole danger from Oudh
suddenly disappeared in a moment in January 1775, with the death
of Shuja-ud-Daula. Not that the Gosavi troops scattered in Bundel-
khand were withdrawn or defeated at once, but the main source of
machinations against the Marathas in the Darbar of the Vazir in
Lucknow ceased to exist on account of the internal difference of
•opinion. The English were not in a position to take advantage of
the situation by planning a forward policy. They had no interest in
the expansion or resusitation of the Mughal power. It appears from
some imrelated letters quoted by Parasnis^ in his Bundelkhand
Chapter that Shinggir (or Singargir?) was finally defeated at
Gulsarai by Dinkar Baburao Kher, a nephew of Govindpant Bundel
of Panipat fame, in September 1775. The promised help from Shinde
and Holkar, however, did not reach Sironj (as referred to in the
letter) till the beginning of the year 1776, i.e., one full year later.
That was how Maratha affairs were going on then.^ The Gosavi
brothers Anupgir and Umraogir lost favour under the successor of
Shuja, and they themselves found their position untenable. The
English resident at the Court of Lucknow was ordered from Calcutta
not to allow the young Nawab to cross the Jumna against the
Marathas, as peace proposals were being discussed between the
English and the Marathas in the Deccan. The Maratha troops
reoccupied Kalpi in 1776 by dispersing the Gosavi troops after many
skirmishes. Many Gosavi troops took service under Mahadji Shinde
and finally Anupgir himself took service under him. This shows
the principleless scramble for power and anarchy obtaining through-
out India in the last quarter of the 18th century.

'^Marathyanche Parahrama (Bundelkhand Chapter), p. 178.

^Ibid,, p. 181.

. . Reader in. Maratha History in the Dveccan College Post-Graduate and Research
Institute at Poona, Mr T. S. Shejwalkar has written several papers on Maratha History.
He is an Assoriate Member of the Commission on behalf of the Institute to which he
belongs.

OUDH AND THE QUESTION OF SALT TAX IN 1867
(By Nandalal Chatterji)

Among the old records preserved in the Deputy Coxnmissionei^s'
Court, Lucknow, there is a bundle of papers relating to an official-
controversy on the question of salt tax. The matter under discusadn
is: 1. whether the existing rate of Rs. 3 per maund was imduly’highj
and, 2. whether internal manufacture could be permitted. Accord-^;
ing to the Oudh Superintendent of Stamps and Excise, 1. the rate
was excessive, and 2, internal manufacture was desirable. (Fide.
E.N.C. Braddon’s "Report Upon The Oudh Salt Question”, July, 15,
1867 ). .

The grounds given by the Superintendent in support of Ms con-
tention may be thus summarised: — .

‘a");

1. The salt sources of Oudh and the N. W. Provinces are pfajeti^-i
cally limitless in number. The richest tracts are comparatively ‘fe^p,
but in some districts there is scarcely a single village in wMch gb*6d';
salt can not be made. “God has granted these saline wells or minis’
to Oudh, and no man now will advocate the closing of them”.

2. On natural equity argument the people should be permitted

enjoy the gifts with which it has pleased Providence to enrich the,
lands they live on”. . r.v

3. Existing restrictions encourage smuggling and illicit frianu^
facture. Kumaon and other hill tracts are supplied by' salt

gled by the Bhutias from Tibet and China “in exchange for ifdd'
getting and equal measure of salt” (Vide Diary of the Comniissioii&
of Customs, 22nd September 1866).

4. The rate of tax prevents the people from obtaining as mucli

edible salt as is necessary for them and their cattle. ^

These arguments, ultra-modern as they sound,, are controverted:
in detail by the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner of
Customs in their respective reports. (Fide. Reports, dated’ 4th:
Septdmber 1867). -I'i

• That internal manufacture would not ease the situation is thus
shown by the critics: — ^ ,

1. The present customs line would have to be maintained to
prevent the western salts from getting in untaxed.

2. Internal manufacture would “drive our taxed manufacture

out of the market and deprive us of our whole revenue”.

3. An enormous and costly establishment is required to permit

local manufacture and secure the tax on the produce.

4. “The natural equity argument is unsound”.

5. Internal manufacture would not stop or discourage

smuggling.

Thait the rate of tax (Rs. 3 per maund) was not high is thus
demonstrated : —

1. A full year’s supply costs no more than seven annas per

head. The average income of the poorest man does not
“fall short of Rs. 36 per annum; on this income then the
total cost of the salt supply is only 1-2 per cent; such a
price is not prohibitive”.

2. Good edible salt can scarcely be sold for less than Rs. 4 a

maund, or 5 annas for three seers.

3. “The total annual cost of the poorest man’s food is not less

than 18 Rs. per annum; is it reasonable to talk of people
being deprived of salt, because its cost amounts to l-40ths
of the total cost of their food?”

4. The incidence of the tax is “infinitesimal”, and even in the

case of the poorest classes it amounts to “considerably
less than 1 per cent on their earnings”.

5. Facts and figures do not support the view that the salt laws

are detrimental to the health of people and cattle. The
Commissioner states, “I have never yet met the native
who could afford to purchase a meal could yet not
afford to procure as much salt as was necessary to season
it”.

The Commissioner clinches his argument with this sarcastic
question, “What has Oudh done that her residents should pay less
duty than the rest of Upper India? Why should Oudh be thus
favoured, and how can the Government afford to relinquish 2-3rds 6t
the tax now levied on Oudh-consumed salt?”.

•Before beiag appointed aa'Reader of Modern Indian Histofy at Lueknow Univer-
sity, Dr. N. L. Chatterjee has been serving the University as a lecturer in History. He is
an Associate Member of the Indian Historical Records Commission and has to his credit
Several-historical -works of outstanding ihoritj the most important being -Jif-ir Kasifn- and'
'VereJst'e Rule in India.

NOTE ON SOME UNPUBLISHED LETTERS OF WILLIAM SMYTHS

(1658-1664)

(By S. Natarajan)

The Hyderabad State Library contains a very interesting collec-ti;
tion of fourteen unpublished letters some original and some copies^
of William Smyth, a factor at Viravasaram' (Verasheroone). Oriey;
of these dated 14th September 1663 was addressed to his brother',?
Edward Smith, Bridge House, Tooly’s Street, Madras Merchant,;.;
South York and the rest were written to his father John Smith .of y!
North Nibley in the country of Gloucester. The most important of ;:
these loiters are those dated 24th December 1658, 29th December;,.
1-659, 12th January 1660, 30th December 1661 and 2nd Jxme 1663;;
which were written from Viravasaram, and those dated 13th Sep^'y
tember 1663 and 19th January 1663/4 written from MadapoUam and..:
Fort St. George respectively. These letters have been preserved;^^
well being neatly bound in one volume bearing the title “The Eastr
India Company, Sec. XVIII Mss letters from India, the Circars and;
Madras 1658-1664.” The accession number in the State Library is;.
H4, 1556. Almost all letters have seals — ^probably that of the factory'
— in perfect condition with the red tape binder under the seals. ■ ...

These are written in a legible hand in the characteristic script
of the Pre-Restoration period. But it is full of odd and old spelling':,
and unconventional abbreviations which add to the difficulty in read--
ing these letters. There is no uniformity in spelling proper names ;
and Gloucester, for example, is spelt in half a dozen different ways."
These letters cover in all 21 pages of foolscap size paper each page,
-containing on average 50 lines consisting of about 12 words.

The first three of these letters mentioned above were in .the;
possession of Mr. Reginald Cholmondeley, of Condover Hall in 1876, ;
but his collection had since been dispersed. William Foster referr-..;
ing to these letters in his ‘English Factories in India 1655-1660’ reg-J ;
retted that the “present ownership of these interesting documents,;:
is not known” and had to be satisfied with referring to account.:
.given, in the Fifth report of the Historical Mss Commission (Sessional ,
Volume No. 40 of 1876, p. 360).2 The Hyderabad State Library is th^.

■■ ■ - . . . - , . » ^

Sajjanlal. M.A.. for giving the inormalioii^’
the whereabouts of these letters, “ .

2 The English Factories in India 1655-1660 by William Foster p. 2361.

■proud owner of not only the three letters referred to above but 11
more ranging over a period of nearly 6 years. It is not possible
at present to state how and when they were acquired by the library.

William Symth was appointed as one of the merchants on 25 1 at
Wiravasaram, a small inland town nearly 40 miles from Masulipatam.
He seems to have been an industrious and earnest worker and was
given a good character by the Company. In his letter to his father
'dated 24th December 1658 he wrote that “Mr. A Count our chief
Mr. Seymour our second dae very well agree which is the life of our
'trade”.

In his letter dated 12th January 1660 he wrote that “in the month
of June last Mr. Roger Seymour second of Verasheroone was un-
fortunately drowned seeking to passe a river on horse back, by
which means I am advanced to the secondshipp of that factorie”.
There is a reference to this drowning tragedy in a letter from Madras
to the Court dated 11th January 1661.^ This difference in the dates
'has been responsible for some confusion. It has been suggested by
'the Historical Mss Commission that Smyth’s letter was written a
year before the Madras letter to the Court. But this discrepancy
in dates is due to the fact that while Smyth’s letters are dated
according to the Old Style the other is dated according to the New
Style introduced by Pope Gregory XIII. This view is confirmed by
the fact that Smyth’s letter from Fort St. George is dated 19th
January 1663/4. In other words the year of the letter would be
1663 according to the Old Sytem and 1664 according to the New. It
is only on this assumption that we can synchronise the dates of the
'Other incidents referred to in the letters with the dates of those
(events gathered from other sources.

Soon after this, in September 1661, Daniel the Chief Factor died
;and from now for nearly 2 years he was in “the sole management
•of this factory and have my selfe alone without any assistance gone
through and compleated the Companys Investment of a consider-
able some”. But he got into trouble by reason of a difference he
:had with Mr. Roger Kilvert and was subjected to “Create deale of
Injustice”. This was not his only misfortune. In his letter dated
June 2, 1663 he informed his father that he got into trouble for
•seizing “in the name and for the use of the Hon. Co. goods belonging
-to Mr. William Jearsay then an interloper or private person now
' Chief e for the Hon. Co. in Metchlepatam under which this factory of
■Yerashroone is subordinate”. This created feelings of deep hatred
-and malice in the Chief and Smyth was afraid that he would not
“be employed in their service for the future in anything uniesse

iThe English Factories in India 1655-1660 by William Foster p. 2361 »

copying of a letter or some such means employfh^hl”.- When - a
complaint was made to the President at Surat and''his Agpnt, lie
informed that the case would be heard in full Cbnffriitte’elat honie:?-
But he was afraid that the company would be more ii^uehced hy|
Clandestine information than by real reports of the incidents''
he requested his father to use his influence to secure the'
of some influential men in England on his behalf, ’ '

From August 16, 1663 when his contract was at art 'eiid';'hc'4lft§|
the Company’s service "not for any self interest or • dislike
ployment” but “because of the difference betwixt the now ‘

Mr. Wm Jearsey and selfe which hath not only extended to >wqrds-|
but blowes in soe much that I have received sufficient affronts'-iySicirj'
must lye buryed in obliviou until wee meete in place 'wheteiihbilifl
parties may appeale and not as here where heeis as welPjudglcaftt
partre”^ ■ •

In his subsequent letter from Fort St. George dated jdhu!a^:‘i§/&
1663/4 he wrote to his father that "by the desire of the sehibr'/Ed^|(r^|
Winter our agent againe enterteyned my selfe in the Co, ser^’ce:})^^^:^
with this proviso not to enter into bonds until I heare 'frqm^^
friends out of England neither doe I againe intende to bblige'^^-/:
selfe unlesse my imployment be answerable to my time -’andSexii
perience in these parts soe that till then I am bounde or
pleasure”.

V, '

The expiry of the Company’s character and the .prospecfs>;o0
“new election espetially if his Majestic doe againe- confiiroe'th^
charter of which some here doubt”^ roused his ambition ;«andy$ei;
wrote to his brother ‘If I have friends in the committee ahd'’any|
new election should bee I may bee in the hopes of gefeng^sdfeet'
perfirment my standing and insight being as old and greate af 'in6st;!|
Unfortunately we have no information if his expectations"
realised or were only frustrated hopes.

'-V

These letters contain some interesting details regarding )thb' con-i
ditions then prevailing at Viravasaram “I find the' Contrie to agreb’
with mee very well. It bein att present not much hotter than with
you in the midest of summer, but weq are in auttum and theroforfe’

mast expect it hotter I am placed in the. healthiest place' in’

all India or the coast of Cormondell. it jg an Iniiiand tbwns soriie.
40=iEng2ish ntll&s from the Metrfpolifan port and fadtory ''%hicfitS^

brother from Madapollam, dated September

better from Smyth to his brother from Fort St. George, dated

•.caUed Metechlupatam this’ countrie is Levell for 100=miles or more
nott one hill to be seene but as plain as our downes in England; we
Jiave such an abundance of wild foule the cheepest of our diet all

the yeare Longe Is wild (^) and such like (2) Had I a good

cloth coate with a large silver lace which is all the weare here and
the badge of an Englishman and on the contrary without it and
.'Others answerable to it not esteemed nor regarded. Likewise the

■cheefest thing needeful Is good hatt This country is a very cheape

place of residence, weare it not for the state and multiplicitie of
servants we strangers are constrained to keepe; all men being res-
pected according to his traine and habbit. We have at present be-
longing to our factory near 70 persons, to whom wee covenant to
pay betwixt 4=& 5d ster per moys each, they finding themselves all
provisions and necessaries, these covenant servants are allowed
when they travel or are sent abrode on our business 2d per diem
which is the rate wee give to all day laborers and porters which we
usually imploy to carry burdens 50 : 60 or 100 miles outright which is
the usual conveyance we make use of for all sorts of goods we sende
from place to place, all sorts of provisions are extreame cheape the

usual rates of beasts is from 5 to 8d but of those we seldom can

procure not so much for want of plentie as for that these ignorant
people fancie that when they die their souls go into the belies of
Oxen Cows calves and the Like on according to the estate they leave
behind them. If rich then their souls goe into the bellies of oxen
and soe their soulds desende and assende as their estates ebbs and
flowes; yet they will not strike to monke these their Gods even unto
death but will not be branded with selling their Gods unlesse
nessesitie Inforseth, on these cattle they carry bundles as we doe
on horses In England and the midle sort of people ride thereon these
beasts have a hole bored through their nose wherefn a string or
■small cord is passed whereby they guide thern at their pleasure— rthey
will go a hagling pace as fast as our ordinary horses trptt and conti-
nue it a day 2 or three; for gotes and sheepe we have in great plentie
from , 6 to 10 pence per peace hens 2=pence and all other things per
proportionable”. A statement of the Masulipatam factors dated 13th
October 1659 states that “we have at present soe great a famine in
these parts, the people dying dayly for want of food, that we cannot
have goods brought in as we expected” (®) It is surprising , that while
Masulipatam was suffering from starvation things were so plentifdl
and '.cheap at Viravasaram which was only 40 miles from Masuli-
patam. It only shows that .transport and other facilities were comp-
letely lacking and things could not be conveyed from places of plenty
to relieve the miseries of the people of the famine stricken areas.

'The word is not legible in the Mss.

*Symth’a letter dated 24th December 1658.

®The English Factories in India 1655-1660 p. 263.

In a subsequent letter he complains that “I finde -notirindia-tijr-s.
Answer to mine & other mens expectations, who supposed that -ii a

man get but once to India and have but his health there-.was.n66

feare of presently getting an estate, as though here houseiwefe%l
filled with diamonds and streetes paved with rubies and' tliat'-|
shovels were a comodities to showell up golds which lay as diistlfl
which I find far otherwise, for in my judgment it is as difficidt.'af,'^
thing to get a livelihood in these country’s as in any others especiallyi-'l
if a man have but a small beginning which is my condition’’^ Symth’s^;’!
experience is contrary to those of many other persons whose num^;;?|
rous private letters give very interesting details on this point'll
‘Smyth’s unfortunate experience was due to his rather iniserable;<l
pecuniary conditions. His capital outlay was very small. His sala^fii.'
m the early days was only 25 1 Even this was not paid in full and was.'.'!
“being kept so meene by the company that instead of 251 per anmmii' t
Trecci avt but 8 1 6s 8ds and the allowance for the house see low.'{?j‘;’-l
rb.ai ihnce as much more will not sattisfte the overplus of my parte-
besides other necessary expenses which dayly fall in”. He was also;v
unlucky to lose much of his merchandise in shipwrecks and other’,!
ways and many of his letters to his father contain pressing requffits'-tj,
for monetary assistance. He could not borrow from the local- people’i^
because of high interest which went up to 18 per cent. 'M;'.

There is also a reference to the personal quarrels and misuhdeny'f
standings between the various factors. For example in his le^Vtf
of January 19, 1663/4 he writes ‘‘greate discontents and heart
ings is betwixt the Agent and our Chiefe in soe much that ii'ifil'
almost come to an open warr. The natives and Dutch laugh at these'';.| ■
transactions I suppose that when the Co are sensible of the dangers!/
they susteyne by it they will not bee well satisfied, they are.botk/i
moneyed men and the one ought not and the other will not stoope’V|? .
Mention has already been made of the quarrels between Smyth ay it
William Jearsay and Koger Kilvert.

We further learn that "Mortalitie hath soe domineered amongst!||
the English in all parts of India that of those that were enterteynedt!

3 years agoe. I really beleeve there are not one half of them'-no^r
Liveing, and it is to be feared that If it continues and noe supply®^
sent out, here will scarcely bee left people to write home news qf-|
their fellow servants death”^. Some of the important persons whosal*
death had been reported were those of his cousin Broomfield/ tl
Skipwith identified by Sir Henry yule with the second Baronet of 'the!
Prestwould branch of the Skipwiths^ Roger Seymour, Daniel, his dwh‘|

‘Smyth’s letter dated 29th Deoemhor I860.
•Smyth’s letter dated December 30, 1661.

•Diary of William Hedges Vol. IT, p. 346.

grand father and grand mother the Broomfields and Kendrick
Edisbury^ The report about heavy mortality is corroborated by
other letters from different individuals. Probably because of the
hot weather some of the people were attacked by a fatal fever lasting
not more than 6 or 8 days.®

The spiritual welfare of the factors and the Christian residents
were completely neglected and no provisions were made for the
appointment of priests at Viravasram. Smyth could not even
christen his new born son for want of a minister and had to plan a
trip to Masulipatam for the ceremony.®

There are also frequent references to some of the ships that
arrived at or sailed out of the Indian harbours, the progress of their
voyage, the calamities that befell them, the causes thereof etc., in one
of the letters we are told that the cause of a ship losing voyage was
“the dutch gave warrs with the queene of acheene as well as with
many others her neighboring kings which they like not to dae
provided they can see but a profit to be made, whereof they are
generally hated.”'’ Thus we find that these letters are of absorbing
interest to the historian dealing with the history of the early settle-
ments of the Company on the Coromandel coast.

iThere is a reference to his death in the English Factories in India 1660-1665 p. 161.
®The English Factories in India 1655-1660 p. 201.

^Sjrmth’s letter dated January 19, 1663/4.

♦Smyth’s letter dated 24th December 1668.

Dr. S. Natarajan is a Lecturer in History in Hizatn College, Hyderabad.

THE RECORDER’S COURT AT MADRAS (1798-1801) ANbr^SQip:

OF ITS FINDINGS. ' '

(By C. S. Srinivasachari)

The Mayor’s Court was started under a Charter of 1688 engro^ed'
only by the Company’s Seal and not by the Great Seal of England;-
and it was thus technically a Company’s Court. It was superse'ded.
in 1727 by one established under the Royal Charter of 24th Septem-
ber 1726, which applied to all the three Presidencies. At the same
time the Charter instituted trial by jury for all criminal cases in the
Sessions Court of Oyer and Terminer set up by it; and it included-
not only the Petty Jury of twelve for the actual trial, but also ’the '
Grand Jury of twenty-four for the preliminary finding of a ^‘bnie’
bill’’, which could make presentments to the Bench -on all ‘matters'
affecting the administration of justice. The Bench was composedmf’
the President and two or more of the five senior Members ofnthe,
Council who, as Justices of the Peace, had to hold Quarter Sessions,
four times a year. Tins transfer of criminal jurisdiction froin„tlig'
Mayor’s Court was only a reversion to previous practice in Majiras,
The Mayor and Aldermen were usually members of the Gra.nd-^ury;
and often made Presentments that “lacked in due respect fprdhe
authority of the Council.” Attempts were made by the issue cof a '
Book of Instructions and of forms as to the methods of proceeding
in all suits and trials and by the Directors’ scrutiny of the annual;
registers of the proceedings of the Courts, in order to keep them in,
“the straight and narrow path of English law”, and to instruct them-
in the fundamental English principles of a fair trial. The Charter.,
of 1753 continued the arrangements of 1726 with only some slight,
alterations; and it expressly exempted from the jurisdiction of the
Mayor’s Court all smts and actions between ‘natives’ only, which,
should be settled among themselves, unless both parties volimtarily;
submitted them to its determination. But ‘Indian’ litigation consti-.
tuted a major portion of the Court’s work even from the first yearn ,
of its functioning. The only Court then available for civil litigation ,
among the Indians at Madras, was the Court of Requests for trying
suits of small value, established by the Charter of 1753. The Madras
Council decided in 1770 to establish a Court for the adjudication of ,
disputes according to the “customs of the natives”; but the resolution
was not implemented till 1795 when the Govemor-in-Council '

established a special Cutcherry Court, by virtue of the powers con-
ferred on him by the Charter Act of 1793 (^). The Regulations for
the Cutcherry Court were passed by the Council on 25th October
1796. But a new Charter of Justice provided for the appointment
of a Recorder, and for the constitution of the Recorder’s Court; and
the Cutcherry Court was closed from 31st May 1798.

Sir Thomas Strange, the first Recorder, brought with him the
Charter of 20th February 1798 for “erecting a new Court of Justice
in the room of the existing Jurisdictions of this Presidency.” C^) The
kecorder’s Court began to function as from 1st November 1798 under-
a proclamation.

Strange had been called to the Bar in 1785 and had functioned;
for some time as the Chief Justice of Nova Scotia. He was knighted,
on his appointment as Recorder at Madras.

The Court of the Recorder for the Madras Presidency superseded
the Mayor’s Court, and took over its records as well as all the causes^
pending at the time in that Court, and proceeded to their final
adjudication. The new Court also took over the judicial powers till
then vested in the Governor-in-Council, whether as a Criminal Court,
or as exercising an appellate jurisdiction from the Mayor’s Court,,
and transferred to itself their records. Thus the appeals pending
before the Governor-in-Council devolved upon the Court of the
Recorder.

All the Advocates and Attorneys and Proctors practising in it had '
practised in the Mayor’s Court and held the Company’s license; and
the changes in the personnel of the officers of the Court were few..
The Court accepted for its jurisdictional limits the territorial limits
of Madras as recently fixed by Government. The papers of the
Cutcherry Court were deposited by the Government with the Re-
corder, the Government returning to such suitors, as had causes
pending in it at the time, the fees they had been obliged to advance

^The Governor thus minuted on the necessity for such a Court : — “At this
moment in a Commercial Capital and under & British Government, where. either of the
Parties is indisposed to Justice, the creditor has no legal means of recovering his debt
or the heir his Inheritance. (Lord Hobart’s minute. proposing the establishment
of a Court of Adaulet for the decision of Civil Causes between native and native.)

^The British Legislature being finally of opinion that an approsimation
to the Supreme Court at Bengal was desirable for the other two Settlements>
the Act of the 37th of the King, Ch. 142, was passed; and shortly after. His Majesty'
was pleased, by virtue and in the pursuance of the powers it conferred, to grant a
new Charter in February 1798.

for the purpose of carrying them on, and lea-^rtiig it to' '' them to
renew them as they might be advised, under 'the 'new Chartor(i). ' '

■While the Mayor’s Court was composed of a ‘ Mayor and nine
Aldermen, the Court of the Recorder was composed -of the Mayor,
and three of the Aldermen, the Recorder presiding; ' His presence •
was deemed to be generally essential to the exercise of the Court’s i
jurisdiction; but he was vested with the power of r^elegdting;his ■
authority to the other members of the Court 'ini' Ms absenceJ 'jThe^
Recorder, either with the Mayor or with one of the.Alderm'en,fcpi^tiii'\
tuted a Court for all purposes of the Chart6r(®). ’ The''''JunsMctidn 5 L
created by the Charter were similar to those of the Supreme'iCotti^
at Calcutta, and the details of its procedure were also much the
It was determined not to have Pundits or Moulvies as referees about;
the laws of the Indians, but to trust rather to the available sources^
of information, as questions that arose might call for. The
course was followed, in the Supreme Court of Madras, that su^f-'";
seded the Recorder’s Court, on 4th September 1801, with Sir.Thom^/
Htrange as the first Chief Justice.

Some Instructive Findings oi the Court

(1) Park V Mootiah; and Mootiah v Park. March 4 to April 30, ITOO

{IllvLstrative of the corrupt dealings of English offi,cials with the

Nawab.)

The original bill was filed in the Mayor’s Court ia 1794 to recover
the sum of 59,000 pagodas upon a note dated 30th June ITSO/ payable^
in three months, and on a mortgage bond of 2ist August following,'
alleged to have been given for the balance of an account .’'''then'
settled. '■ ‘

^The ancient institution of the Glioultry Court for deoiding disputes of landed
'proparty and registering property transfers among ‘natires’, -vrhioh vas transfer^
to the Court of Outohorry, -vi-as finally abolished in March 18Q0, and its rocords.iwere^
•transferred to the Court of the Recorder. (P. Gongultations, 18th and lOfch March 1800).’

V ;*>- ;

* ‘‘ The Court of the Recorder of Madraspatnam” should be holden by and^beforo
<jne principal Judge, ■who should be called the Recorder of Madraspatnam ‘ and -'sliouM
430 the President of the Said Court, and by and before tbo Mayor and throe ’pf ‘the.
Aldermen of Madraspatnam to be from titno to time eel'ootbd in rdtation'tp'.hp
assistant of Judges thereof all Judicial powers and authorities heretofore ^exorcised by
-the Mayor’s Court at Madras, and by the Governor and Council &a a Court :'df , APP?'“
ifrom the same, and by the Court of Oyer and Terminer arid Goal delivef^yr ^have
by virtue, of the diioctions contained in His Majesty’s Letters Patent, 'thereby'ceosed
and determined ; and that all Civil, Criminal, Ecclesiastical and'Admii'rilty 'Jufisdiotiori
will hereafter be exercised in the Court of the Recorder of Madras.** (Fort? Sf^
<Seorge Consultation, 1st November, 17»8.) . - . -

The answer of Mootiah admitted the execution of the note and
'Taond, in favour of the Complainant’s testator Douglass; but it stated,
“that Douglass was the confidential agent of a gentleman of the name
'Of Johnson, who was the party interested in these instruments; and
dhey had been executed by Vaidyanatha the intestate, at the instance
'Of the then Nawab of the Cai’natic, in consideration of services ren-
--dered to him by Johnson, Vaidyanatha and Douglass having been
.both merely nominal parties in the transaction.

The Recorder’s Judgment dismissing the original bill reveals the
-consideration which was the basis of the charge against the bond, as
cne which v/ould not be endured by the law and would not bear
-the light of scrutiny. It is a revealing page in the book of corrup-
' tion that was then so rife in Madras.

It further says: — “The Government of this Presidency having in
1779, taken possession of the Guntoor Circar, Mr. Johnson being at
..that time a Member of the Council, overtures were made to him
.by the then Nawab, through the mediation (as appears) of one
Bagavanloo, that if he would, in Council, promote his Highness’s
views of obtaining possession of this Circar, he would give him
,;5O,GG0 Pagodas; that this being agreed to by Johnson, a bond was
•given by the Nawab for the money, which" not being paid, was
-renewed, and renewed again; but the better to cover what was to
.'be concealed, and that a Councillor’s name might not appear in a
-transaction of such a nature, it was renewed in the name of Douglass,
the Plaintiff’s testator, the notorious agent, as stands proved, of this
.gentleman’s durbar corruptions.”

“It is indeed a contract that must stamp this gentleman’s name
with discredit, as long as it shall be remembered; a contract, which
-neither he, nor his confidential agents representing him, can recover
upon.”

“It is void by the common law, and the reason why the common
Jaw says such contracts are void, is for the public good; — ^You shall
not stipulate for iniquity — All writers upon our law agree in this;
no polluted hand shall touch the pure fountains of justice— whoever
■is a party to an unlawful contract, if he have once paid the money
sipulated to be paid in pursuance of it, he shall not have the help
'■of a Court to fetch it back again. If it is not paid, the party claim-
-ing it shall not make a Court of Justice auxiliary to his corruptness.
“ProcuZ! 01 Procul este prof anil”

Frank v, Barrett.

(2) Another interesting case of March 1799 on the Plea Side was
'based on a question whether a person in the service of the Nawab

of the Carnatic was entitled to diplomatic privilege. The.. defen“/
dant Barrett was the Principal Secretary and English Ihterpreter.o^^l
the Nawab, as certified by an affidavit sworn by John Bkttiey
Nawab’s Persian Translator. The plea of Barrett was' ihat'^hh;!l
Nawab was living within the British Presidency, thbugh he"was'ai:/
Sovereign and independent Prince, and that he was hot empioyfiig' •'
any vakil or ambassador for himself, but personally regulatih|*;aEx'
his relations with the Company. Barrett having been his Principal.^
Secretary and English Interpreter, by reason %f all and singul^l
the premises aforesaid, by the law and' custom of nations, and thpjc
statute made in the seventh year of the Reign of Queen Anne, mti-C
tuled “An Act for preserving the privileges of Ambassadors, ghdA
other public Ministers of foreign Princes and States /^ — ^he was mpi?'
liable, nor bound to answer the plaint. The suit stopped at ..this; ?
stage, the defendant satisfying the demand. . ‘/f,

It may be noted here that even as early as 1779 a collision^- liad’j
occurred between the Sheriff and the Nawab’s. guards, on the ocbk-;;;
sion of the Sheriff attempting to take possession of a house belong--^
ing to Prince Amiru’l Umara, the second son of the Nawab, -whichl';
had been sold by the Court after an action was brought against -they;
Prince for debt; and as the latter did not appear in Court, .judgrnerit;i
was given agajinst him (vide Minutes of the Mayor’s Courts
September 1799). The Nawab wrote in consequence to the Gover-i*
nor requesting exemption from the jurisdiction of the Mayorls Courts
for himself, his family and servants; and his letter of the 9th. Octo-’;
ber 1779, was as follows: — .......

“Some of my Family having lately experienced some trouble-. ,
from the Orders of the Mayor’s Court, which gave, me- f
much uneasiness as I have already acquainted you,, T '
should be deficient to myself and 'fo the high Station 'jir/
which the Almighty has been pleased to place me'iPT
did not complain of it as an infringement of the rights ’
of an independent Prince in strict plliance with their
own Sovereign, who has quitted his Capital for many .
Years with a, view of strengthening and establishing his
Friendship, and connection with the English Nation by
residing amongst them. '(P.C. vol. c;pcii., 26th October,.
1779.) (5) . , V

®Closoly related, to the Bubject •svas - thiB Presentment on.. two occasions of ib’
Grand Jury of the Madraspatnam Sessions', drawing attention ' to the prevalence of
hooliganism in the village of Tripljoane, adjacent to the bfawab’s residence at Chopauk,
where most of his followers lived. The Presentment of the first sessions of 1790, was
forwarded by the Recorder to Government, with the remark that Triplicane was within
the jurisdiction of hifl Court. Lord Ufotnington,. the Govemor-Genoral who was at
Madras at the time and in control of the Government; a dressed on 2nd Pobruary 1799,® '
severe letter of warning to Kawab TTmdatu’bUmara .asking .him to preonl such disorders-

(3) Johnston v. East India Company, July 1799.

Another suit on the Plea Side, decided on 1st July 1799, was on
■the question whether the Plaintiff was entitled to a verdict and for
liow much, on account of the grain delivered by the Nawab of the
'Carnatic in discharge of a war subsidy under a particular treaty
.and received. It was held that the grain so delivered, was not to
'be regarded as revenue in the hands of Government so as to be with-
in the restriction of the Charter and excluding that particular sub-
ject from the jurisdiction of the Court. The argument for consider-
ing the grain as the Company’s revenue was that “it was delivered
and received in part payment of four-fifths of the revenues of the
‘Carnatic, under the war article of the treaty of 1767; and that the
.Nawab, having had credit given to him for it, as such in account,
it thereby became revenue in the hands and under the management
'of the Governor in Council.”

The Judgment of the Recorder was as follows : — “It is then, an
■appropriation of so much of the Nawab’s revenue for the purpose
'of a war subsidy; and a war subsidy payable out of his revenue,
■•as every subsidy, from one state to another, must issue from the
revenues of the State that engages to pay it. But this no more made
it . Company’s revenue, than where a man pays a debt out of his
'.salary, the money so paid becomes salary, in the hands of the credi-
tor who receives it. By the payment, the property is changed, and
what was salary in the hands of the debtor, becomes an unqualified
-sum of money in those of the person receiving it. So here, the grain
^in question, on being transferred, ceased to be revenue, and became
subsidy, applicable, not to the ordinary purposes of revenue, but to
the expenses of the war only, by the particular stipulations of the
treaty.”

“It would seem, therefore, for anything contained in the first
■plea to the contrary, that the subject matter of it is within the
•Court’s jurisdiction.”

(4) Plea Side-Doe on demise of Latour v. Roe. 10th April 1801

A double issue was involved in this case for ejection, to recover
possession of a house in Pudupakam in Madras, of Khadar Nawaz
Khan who claimed to be a servant of Nawab Umdatu’l-Umara and in
immediate attendance on him. The first issue -was that the Khan
was advised that “neither he, nor his house and' garden were, by
■Ihe laws of nations, and of England, subject, to the Court’s jurisdic-
tion.” The affidavit also said that the Nawab, who was the real
■creditor, was ready and willing to come to a fair settlement with
the lessors of the Plaintiff, and to do them ample justice, if they
•would refer their accounts, without reserve, to arbitration, so that His

Equity Side August 1801

(5) Veerapermall Pillay v. Narain Pillai & Others^ Executors '^OP-

COLXJKDA VeERAPERMAEL

The case is illustrative of the Court proceeding to decide on some'*
intricate points of the Hindu Law, pertaining to adoption and'^S;
position of property; and the parties were well-known persons in.*'^
the Madras society of those days. V.'

> • /

The following note and several quotations above have beep, taken
f’om Thomas Strange’s Notes of Cases in Madras from 1798 to 18i6'-
Strange resigned his office of Chief Justice in 1817 when he returned V
to England. He has remarked that the Madras "judicature had'-'^j
attained “a maturity beyond its years” and it “embraced every spe-j7
cies of jurisdiction known to our juridical constitution,” He further^-;
remaiks that “in deciding suits involving the interpretation of 'the'y
lav/s of the Indians, the trust imposed on the Bench should be most;;'',"
delicate and should be never satisfied by a mere reference 'to afl’
Pundit or a Moulavie.” •

"'Hi

Strange thus summarises his "views as to Hindu adoption ^

August ,5th, 18011.' '

“If a Hindu by his will expresses a wish to be represented by. the },
unborn son of a particular person whom he names, who has but one*;
son at the time, and who has no other living at the death of. the'j.
testator, his widow is not bound to wait indefinitely the birth of;a \
second son, but may adopt any competent person she thinks proper.'

Essentials of adoption by the Hindu law, are the giving and'
receiving. j' »■-

“It is not necessary that the person adopted by a widow, after the . ^
death of her husband, should have been named by him. It is suffi- .
<cient that she had his authority to adopt, exprefes or implied! r
This is indispensable. > - . •

“The adoption of an elder son is improper, but not invalid.— If a
man have two "wives, and by the first a son, and by the second '
several, the elder of those by the younger wife may be given an^
received in adoption.

“If the father of the boy to be given be dead, the consent of the.
«lder son, as representing him is’sufficient; the .consent of the mother
onay he presumed from circumstances.

“/The adoption is good, tho’ the adopted be above five years of age,
.'.and have under-gone the ceremony of purification, provided he be
"the son of a near relation of the adopter, the’ not a sagotra, i.e. not
descended in a direct male line from one common male ancestor.

"The restriction as to age respects only the three superior casts,
and is not binding upon Soodras; and with respect to the superior

■ classes, the criterion is, not the particular age of the adopted, but
whether he has undergone the ceremony of inauguration, namely,
that of tonsure and boring the ears.

“The property in dispute in this case was considerable, amount-
ing to between two and three hundred thousand Pagodas.

"It embraced a number of questions on the right and mode of
-.adoption. The principal one, as to the right of making the one which
had taken place, arose on the will of a Hindu; a disposition of pro-
perty, according to our , sense of it, not known to the Hindu law,
and to be defended in our Courts, in which it has perhaps impro-
perly been admitted, only by analogy to the Hindu of gifts. Much
as the case was contested on other points, the question as to the
-competency of a Hindu to make a will was not touched in it, both
parties, the Complainant and Defendants, claiming under the be-
quests and directions which it contained this is certain, that a

dying Hindu, failing male issue, may authorize an adoption to take
■effect after his death, and this by writing, as well as otherwise. The
will in this case therefore, with reference to the parts of it that were
in question, must have been construed as a direction in writing by
the testator to adopt. As such, it would have been unquestionably
igood, and the discussion would have turned, as it did, upon the cons-
'truction to be put upon it.”

The will in dispute is illustrative of institutions and modes of
thinking among the Hindus, and, as such, a matter of historical

■ curiosity.

"The cause was heard upon bill, answers, and deposition. Among
the witnesses were a number of Sastrees, who had been examined
to the different points of Hindu law, upon which chiefly the suit
depended. There were not fewer than ten or twelve on either side;
and their answers upon every point, were in direct opposition to each
other. From such oracles an English Court was not likely to derive
much satisfaction. That there was a great deal of corruption among
them was plain. Under these circumstances, resort was had to other
:sources of instruction, as to the law, as will appear from the judg-
rment.”

It was one of the last given in the Court of the Recorder. - f he- .
Supreme Court shortly after succeeding, an application was! rhad^,
to it for a rehearing, but withdrawn; nor was there any appeal, -the-
parties finally acquiescing in the opinion delivered. - ' , -

The peculiarity of the will in question is seen in the following:
paragraph translated from it which has been compared with the will-
of the Raja of Rajashahi addressed to Rani Bhushani Devi authori—
2ing her to adopt a son after his decease.

Vayalur Veerapermall Pillai in his will duly witnessed thus
provided: —

“You are to give my emeral ear-ring to lyah Pillay; If ly^
Pillay begets a son, beside his present one, you are to keep him to
my lineage; and name him Colunda Veerapermall Pillay. You are
to give him a good education, and introduce him to the best societyp
giving him the jewels that are in the house, the remaining garden,,
and remaining villages.” ^ '

Before be coming Principal of R. D. M. College, Sivaganga, S. L, Oewan Bahadur,-.' '
C. S. Sriiniveachari had served for many years as Professor and Head of the Depart-",;-'
inent of History and Politirs, Annamalai University, Anenthusiastjcjmemberof.the;-""
Indian Historical Records Commission, the Dewan Bahadur is an author of many i.
important publications based on original records. As Convener of the Madras Regions®’, ..
Records Survey Committee, he hes brought to light a large collection of records .iit‘,3
private custody.

BOUNDARY DISPUTES BETWEEN THE BRITISH AND MAYUR-
BHANJ IN THE 18TH CENTURY

(Mainly Based on the Midnapur District Records)

(By Tarit Kumar Mukherji)

The river Subarnarekha was looked upon generally as the limit
of the Company’s territory on the west and that of the Maratha
occupations on the east. The river however was not the real boundary-
as the Marathas held territory north-east of the river in parganas
Bograi, Kamarda, Pataspur and Shahbandar. The Company’s posses- -
sions on the right bank of the river included among others Naya-
basan, Ghatsila, Janpore, and Bhelorachur. Nayabasen was one of.
the Parganas in the western jungles forming the thana of Janpore.’-
It was situated partly on the west and partly on the east of the river. .
Pargana Bhelorachar (now within the District of Balasore) was the-
only Pargana that the Company possessed “to the southward of
Subarnarekha. ”2

To the west of the river was the State of Mayurbhanj the ruler
of which became a tributary of the Marathas after the latter had
made themselves master of Orissa. The northern boimdry of'
Mayurbhanj terminated at Nayagramgarh. From there the eastern-
boundary commenced and extended upto the village Mulida in the-
pargana Bhelorachar, a few miles south of Rajghat. To all intents,
and purposes the ruler of the State was independent. The Marathn
claim to supremacy appears to have always been resisted by the Raja.
Bhowani Pundit in 1764 expressed his intention “to root out the-^
rebellious Zemindars of Harrurpoor” (Capital of Mayurbhanj).^ In
1766 Thomas Motte while at Balasore wrote, “There is usually at:
Balasore a party of thirty horse and five hundred foot but at this
time they are with Pellajee collecting the tribute of the Mahur Bimje-
country”.^ During their long rule over Orissa (1751-1803) the-
Marathas seldom succeeded in reducing the Rajah of Mayurbhanj to-
submission. Even as late as 1784 an attempt was made to crush-
Damodar Bhanja but it proved to be of no account. On November-

’Lett.^r from tlie Collector to Air, Duncan, Revenue Dept., dated Midnapore, 24tb:.
August 1782.

“Letter from the Resident to the Hon’blo Harry Verelst, dated the 5th May 1767..
“Calendar of Persian Correspondence, 17G4, letter No. 2481.

*Early European Travellers, p. 4.

25 that year the Collector in a letter referred to what had been -re- '
ported to him by Captain Hamilton. Captain Hamilton, - Com-'
mander of Company’s Troops at dales war wrote, “The Eajah'.pf ■
Mohrbunj has again started creating troubles; Moodajee wishes to;
crush him and I flatter myself I should require two small guns to '
take his country. Rajahram Pundit is now with a large army at'
Nilgurrya endeavouring to reduce the Rajah but I hear he will not s
effect it”.s r

Fear of punishment at the hands of the Marathas led Damodar
Bhanja to seek the friendship of the English. Early in 1761, Damodar^
Bhanja sent his vakeel Moti Ram to Mr. Vansittart. The latter
acknowledged Rajah’s profession of loyalty to the Company and sent
m turn Mr. Johnstone to Mayurbhanj and instructed him to- treat
the Rajah in a friendly manner.^ In 1767, Lt. Fergusson “settled the
parganas (Nayabasan and Bhelorachar) in the Mayurbhanj Rajah’s
po.sschaion for Rs. ( ) a year”.^ In 1768 when Sambhaji Ganesh

the Maratha Subahdar of Cuttack, in a letter, expressed his intention
of invading Bengal and sought his assistance, Damodar Bhanja
pleaded his inability owing to scarcity of rice. Bulbuddar Bhanj the
Rajah’s envoy to the Resident of Midnapore, stated that the Rajah
was desirous of shaking off the yoke of the Marathas, and that his
country was so advantageously situated that with a very little
assistance from the English he should at any time be able to prevent
the Marathas from entering into Bengal from the southward.®

This friendly relation between the Rajah and the English however
did not last long. During the closing years of the rule of Warren
Hastings, dispute arose between the Rajah and the Company over
the possession of the two Parganas, Nayabasan and Bhelorachar.
It appears from the records that since 1767 the Rajah held the
pargana of Nayabasan as a revenue paying estate and quite distinct
from his independent* territory. Great difficulty was experienced in
realising the government demands from him. From 1777 onwards
the Rajah became very irregular in his payments. “With regard to
Damoodur bunje, Zeminder of Nayabussaun”, wrote the Resident,
“I beg leave to observe that in 1184 (B.3.) Mr. Higginson, Chief
of Burdwan, in conformity to the orders of the Hon’ble Board made
mocurrer settlement of the Junguls and fixed for the Jumma of
Nyabussaun Alla Sicca Rs. 5293-12-13”®.. In 1184 the balance due

^Public Letter Copy Book, 1784, Vol. 8, Part I.

‘Calendar of Pei-siau Correspondenoo, Letter Nos. 1020, 1112.

'Midnapore Records, Vol. I, P, 147.

‘From the Resident to the^on’ble Harry Verolsb, dated Midnapore the sth July 176S.
sprOm the Collector to the Hon'ble Wfttien Hastings, dated Midnapoto, the lOtfe
Oct. 1770.

from him was Rs. 2174-4-15, in 1185 it was Rs. 1273-5-8 and in 1186
Rs. 2043-13-4. The Rajah on his part complained of over assessment
and demanded a reduction of Rs. 2000 from his fixed mocurrer
settlement. “The only alternatives”, observed the Resident, “that
occur to me is either to comply in some small degree with his demand
......or to take the pergunna entirely out of his hands and thereby

supersede his influence, by what the Tannadar would consequently
acquire, when supported by a small military force that might be
stationed, in the Killa of Nyabassaun, at present occupied by the
Rajah’s sardars and pikes”.^°

The company at that time was not in a position to apply force
against -the Rajah. But it did not however accept the Rajah’s pro-
posal for a reduction in his Jumma. This offended the Rajah and
he waited for an opportunity to extend his sway over the Company’s-
possessions on the right bank of the Subarnarekha. Chimnaji Bapoo,
proceeding from Nagpur “by studied deviation and delays” reached'
Cuttack in May 1780. In March 1781, irregular bands of Maratha
horse started creating widespread disturbances in the district of
Jaleswar. The Resident reported that “fifty Maratha horse made an
inroad into our pergunna of Belorachour, plundered Suntospore and
four other villages on the west side of the Subarnarica” between the
2nd’ and 7th March. On the 8th another “band of 200 Maratha horse-
after plundering some villages in Ismailpore and Lampochaur pro-
ceeded to Mohunpore a considerable town where are sundry cloth
factories belonging to the Company and to several Bengal mer-
chants; these they plundered as well as the houses belonging to
Ryots”

Taking advantage of the confusion resulting from the inroads of
the Marathas, Damodar Bhanj'a arrived at Bhelorachar and plundered
several inhabitants. His Choudries and Naibs started collecting'
revenue from the Ryots. The Thanadar of Jaleswar reported that
“upon the first incursion of the Pindaries the Zemindars and many
of the Ryots went to the Ghur of Amerdaw in Bhelorachour, that
soon after the Mahr Bhunj Rajah taking the opportunity entered
Amerdaw, and plundered those he found there”. Major Macpherson
with his regiment “not above cose distant from Amerdaw could
not come to the aid of the unhappy riots; as any troops sent across
the Subarnrica might alarm the Morattoes and impede the negotia-
tions on foot”, between 'Warren Hastings and Chimnaji Bapoo .12 The

loFrom the Collector to the Hon’blo Warren Hastings, dated Midn^pore, the 4th
July I7S0.

^^From the Collector to the Hon’blo Wfi-rren Hastings, dated Slidnapore, the 12th
March 1781.

^=From the Collector to Mr. David -Anderson and Members of the Board ofHovonue,
dated Midnaporo tho 24th jNIarch 17S1.

Eajah was audacious enough to send his people opposite Fort Knox •
at Jaleswar m pursuit of the riots of Bhelorachar; but they” were
stopped by Major Maepherson who threatened to fire upon them
from the fort ‘‘in case they came within reach in such pursuits”.^* ' '

The presence of the Maratha horse in the vicinity of Mayurbhanj
reminded the Rajah of his allegiance to the Maratha Government.
He proposed to pay his tribute from the collections of Nayabasan,
Anguin Paury. the Rajah’s Vakeel was asked to send the “two next
kists of that pergenna directly to him intending it as a part of the
tribute to be given to the Morattoe Chief whose troops he expected,
naiing received a letter from Chimnaji of his intentions of 'marching,
through flarnorpore though not in hostile manner. Anguin' Pau^,
likewise mentioned that the Mohrbimj Rajah had removed .*“ hb;
Zenana and effects from Harriorpore into places of greater safetyt’^V

■Imoioving upon his original claim of only 81 villages in the pet;
gunna 3i''elora-chour”, wrote the Resident, “the Rajah has by his
ov n authority taken seisin of the whole pergunna and finding' np
effectual opposition to his encroachments but rather a calm urunter-
rupied enjoyment he has enlarged his views and on the 8th of this
month he sent his moonshey to erect a staff and lay claim to'Dhon-
poxe and seven other villages on the Western side of the Subarnirica

forming part of the Pergunna Jellasore” and “has likewise

seized Punnysuary. Multanny, and Razigaut, the three Gauts heloiiig-
ing to Jellasore and directed a toll to be levied upon passengers aad
goods”

' f

By promising to pay his tribute the willy Rajah succeeded in.'’ dis-
arming the suspicion of the Maratha ^Government and in enlisting
the support of Nana Rao, the Maratha Foujdar of Balasore in Ms
claim to Bhelorachur. On May 31, 1781, the Resident wrote io
Mr. Anderson, “I should conclude from the pi’oceedings of Hie
Mohrbunj Rajah that he has been endeavouring to deceive ffie’
Phousdar of Balasore to screen himself from his pajnnents there.....*.
■copy of a letter the Mohrbunj vakeel brought me from Nunna Row,'.,
Phousdar of Balasore, wherein, he advises me to give quite possession,'
in conformity to the Governor General’s order of the villages claimed
by Mohrbunj in Bheloriachour because he was indebted to the
Morattoes two Laacs of Rupees. In my reply which I likewise en-
close I observed that he must have been misinformed relative to the

^’From the Colleetor to Mr. David Anderson & Members oftho Board of Bovenne
Kiatod 9th May 1781.

’■■‘From the Collector to the Hon’hlo Warren Hastings dated 7th March 1781.

From the Collootor to Mr. David Andoreon and Members of the Board of Boronno.
4ated 31st May 1781.

■Governor General’s orders — that the lands in dispute belonged to
the Company, whicli nevertheless the Mohrbunj Rajah had already
taken possession of by his own authority; that however it could
not be expected he should be suffered to collect from the Company’s

lands and riots in order to pay his balance to the Morattoes

No other opportunity than the one that offered would have

.availed the Mohrbunj Rajah in thus putting himself in possession for
.had not the Subarnirica, at that time been the Ne plus Ultra, to the
Company’s troops on the one side and to the Morattoes on the other”,
troops might have been sent “which would have effectually prevent-
• ed the Rajah from seizing the districts”.'^

Bhelorachur formed one of the parganas of the Chuckla Jaleswar.
It devolreed to the Company upon the cession of that Chuckla. This
was never disputed by the Marathas. The pargana had all along
■paid either peshcus or rent to the Company either through the
■Canongoe or Thanadar of Jaleswar. In the Tuxeen papers the
'Zemindar appeared paramount of the whole pargana consisting of
113 villages; the claim of the Mayurbhunj Rajah to 81 villages had
no “other foundation than his having at different times but with
long interruptions held them in farm; before they came into his
hands they were held from the Zemindar as Etmaum by two Sardar
■pikes of Jallesore; ever since the year 1178 the Mohrbunj Rajah has
held no part of the pergunnah”.^^

On July 25, 1781, Mr. Anderson was informed by the Collector of
Midnapore that troops sent to Bheloriachur had done their duty
and that the Tahsildar was then in possession of the villages lately
held by the Mayurbhanj Rajah.^® The Collector in another letter
pointed out that two companies of troops should be stationed in the
frontier districts “to deter the Rajah from attempts on that quarter,
-and drive him out should he undertake any”.^® With regard to
Nayabasan a settlement was reached in 1784, whereby the Rajah
.agreed to pay a yearly revenue of Rs. 3,200 for his estates in
-’Midnapore.®®

^’From the Collector to Mr. David Andersoa & Members of the Board of Revenue
'tdated 9th May 1781.

’^^Fromthe Collector to Mr. David Anderson & etc., dated 25th July 1781.
i»From the Collector to the Hon’ble Warren Hastings, dated 3rd October, 1781.

= "Letter Book, Midnapore Colleotorato, 1784, VoL 9, Bengal District Gazetteer VoL
^ P. 38,

VISUAL TELEGRAPHS, CALCUTTA TO CHUNAR, 1816-28’

[By R. H. Phillimore]*

The archives of the Government of India contain many early
stories of sad failures, brave experiments, and glorious achieve-
ments. It is possible that this story of the Visual Telegraph falls
somewhere between the first two.

In 1813 William Boyce of Bombay offered to establish a system
of visual telegraphs from one end of India to another, improving
on a model that had been successful in Europe. The Government, of
Bengal was interested, and after consulting the Surveyor General
appointed a Telegraph Committee, with the Surveyor General .'as,.
President, to examine and report on the subject. After obtaining'
the vic<,v of William Lambton and others, this Committee recom--
mended that survey should be made of a line from CalcuttaXto'*
Chunar that might be extended later through Nagpur to Bombay,

• X -V’'' -

George Everest, then a young artillery officer, who was la'terj'to*
become Surveyor General of India, and whose name has l^e.en
given to the highest mountain in the world, was given charge, of''
this survey which he completed by October 1818. The line folloWfed:
generally the “new military road” through Hazaribagh that was-
later abandoned for the Grand Trunk Road which ran further north,
avoiding the high lands of Chota Nagpur. . ,

Major Playfair, Superintendent of the Military Roads, construc-
ted the towers before 1821, and a succession of Officers held* the
post of Superintendent of Telegraphs till it was abolished in '1830,’
and the towers abandoned to their fate. A few of those 'between:.
Calcutta and Burdwan were made use of by the Great Trigoho"--
metrical Survey about 1830. ‘

The following extracts are taken from original correspondence-
of the Survey of India and consultations of the Political and '

Military Departments of Bengal:

- - — - « . ■ ■ _

•Colonel R H PMUimore, C.I.E., D.S.O. (late Royal Engineers and Survey
of India) has undertaken, on his retirement from Government service in 1934,*
the monumental task of compiling a history of Surveys in India from the-
earliest days, of which the first volume, 18th century and the Volume II (1800
to 1815) have already seen light. The third volume is designed to cover the?
period 1815 to 1800 and the Colonel’s ambition is to carry this important
history forward to 1883. A corresponding member of the Indian Historical
Records Commission, Colonel Philiiraore has been actively co-operating with,
the activities of the Commission and the National Archives of India and has.
also contributed several illuminating articles to the Indian Archives.

Boyce, to the Government of Bombay, 6th December 1813?;-
submits “a plan for establishing a Telegraph communication across'.

the Peninsula of India I have effected improvements m the-

Telegraph -which I wish to introduce, which render- at infinitely-
superior to any Telegraph whatever, and I have conquered diffi-

culties in the system in general which have hitherto been regarded!
both in England and on the Continent of Europe as insuperable:
barriers to telegraphic perfection

“When an overland dispatch arrived, or any news, of importance
by sea, it could be communicated to the Supreme Government im
half an hour, and an answer received back in the next half ho-ur-’h

In passing this proposal to the Supreme Government the Bombay.
Government remarked, 13th January 1814^, that, “it is; probable-.

that a man better qualified than Mr. Boyce could hardly be

found. He was for some years employed in the management,

of the Telegraphs in Ireland, and there is every reason to believe-
that he would discharge the trust reposed in him with fidelity and
ability”;

Boyce was optimistic as to the labour and expense that would be
entailed. He estimated the cost of each tower at Rs. 2,500 and-
suggested two lines: Route 1. Bombay-Poona-Hyderabad-Elldre-
Cuttack-Calcutta, 75 stations; — Route 2. Bombay, along coast to
Mangalore, then Seringapatam-Bangalore-Madras, and from Madras,
to, Calcutta, 133 stations.

Government asked the Surveyor General, Charles Crawford, for
his - comments, and he replied, 20th June 1814^, “Whilst I have
the highest opinion of the great superiority of Mr. Boyce’s Tele-;-
graph; over any other invention of the same kind, and also duly

acknowledge the numberless advantages that would accrue,

yet I . cannot help- differing in opinion from him when he proposes
to commence the towers without having the whole extent of.'

country examined by a skilful Engineer Nor do I think with:

him that the, building of wooden- houses by way of lessening the
expense would answer, as they would be so liable to such- rapid!
decay, not only from the nature of this climate, but also from the.-
destructive . nature of the white ants.

“In respect to the number of towers, required, I do. not think it!
could ever be even, nearly guessed at for, as the telegraphic part'
of the tower is only about 16 or 17 feet high, when a jungly tract:

N.A.1, Pol. Cons. 4 March 1814, No. 10.

* N;A.I. Pol.. Cons. 4 March -1814, No. 9.-.-
® Survey Records, DDn. 143; pp. 73-8.

was to be got through, they could not see eseh other ’
distance. ,

‘‘In Mr, Boyc»'s laudable anxiety to carry this most' plan -
into execution he has. I am afraid, overlooked some obstad^itl^l^*:
had he travelled much in the Peninsula, he would have found
diEcult to overcome. I shall first taiK notice of the dan^at-'fiSshi
the Pindaries or any other lawless tribes for, aithou^
may be musquet-proof. and sufficiently strong to prevent the fpfev
being carried by force, yet how are they to procure water or piovi^^
sions if the tower must be protected? then only one r nan
on this errand, whose fate cquid easily be guesed were the
ries determined to get rid of th<^ who are so very likely to

their suspicions or provoke their enmity In many places .where:;

towers could be found most absolutely requisite, the distance. hrosi ‘
any supplies, and what would be still worse not being i^le tb;-;
procure water or of its being bad, would prove a difficiilfy
difficult to be overcome.,.. ■

“The hHis in gene’^ai in this country are universally unhealtiiy^-;^

and without running water, and stagnant water found among .tfe",.

rocks is sure to bring on fevers of the worst kind. Indeed, I cannot* ?

help thinking that the want of water fit to drink would prove ons .^

of the most unsurmountable difficulties.... In most of these jun^^' •

it would often happen that in all prol^biii^ the whole of the ;

comole ment of men would be sometimes all down in fevers at the “
* - .. '
same time . , y

Boyce was summoned to Calcutta, and in a letter dated '1^*.
August 1816^ asked to run an experimental line between Fort :
William and Barrackpore. In another letter from the Mfiitaiy
Departraen;. dated i2th August 1817®, Government nominat^'^
Lt. Colonel Mackenzie. Surveyor General, to be President, and rix
other military officers to be members, of “a Cornmittee for the ptirV
pose of establishing an experimental Telegraphic commnnlcaticGi -

between Fort William and Nagpore. The whole question of'

applying that mode of communication to India being deemed mf '
portant and interesting, it has been judged expedient that yoa,
shottM progressively extend your enquiries "beyond the point mcue
immediately submitted to you, and should hold in view the prob-
able extension of the system at a future period”.

On the 21st October Government wrote to the Telegraph Com-
mittee^ acknowledging “the recexpt^of your letter of the 28ih

» • ^

* NAJ. Pol. 'Cons. 3 August 1816, No. 3S. We have found nothing further
about Boyce.

* NAX MiL Com. 12 August 1817, No. llS-122; Survey gi

<p. Ti>. • ;

« NA_r. MiL Cons. 21 October 1817. No. 106.

ultimo, with its enclosures, reporting the reasons which induce you
to give a preference to the line of the military road over that of the
river for the telegraphic communication between the Presidency
and Chunar, and recommending that two officers might be appoint-
ed to survey the preferred line

"The Hon’ble the Vice President in Council entirely concurs

in the preference you have given to the military road, and has

accordingly appointed Captain-Lieutenant Everest of the Regi-
ment of Artillery and Lieutenant Ferguson of the Ramghur
Battalion to survey and report on that line under your directions”.

The Committee then wrote to Lambton, 9th January 1818^,
asking for his opinion on the general question; “The plan itself is

a very simple one. Mr. Boyce has four balls which, being

numbered from 1 to 4, are singly or by combination sufficient to
express the nine units. For applying this system therefore to
written language, it was only necessary to form a vocabulary of all
words and forms of words that can be useful, together with names
of persons and places, and then to number them in such a manner

as to exclude 0 or zero The apparatus for communicating them

is composed of a mast and yard, to the latter of which are affixed
four pullies serving to raise and lower the balls, which are from
four to six feet in diameter according to the distance at which they
are to be seen, and made of the lightest bamboo work covered with
black canvas

“The difficulties arising from the nature of the ground in this
side of India are those peculiar to fiat countries abounding in woods
and forests, which being very lofty exact a corresponding elevation

in the telegraphic building The other obstacles arising from the

variations of the atmosphere prevail very generally to a certain

degree Enquiries on this head may furnish the Committee with

information to enable them to trace their lines in such a manner
as to conduct them through those parts of the country which are
least subject to these inconveniences....

“Commercial advantages of very considerable public service are
anticipated from the increased rapidity of conveying intelligence
across the Peninsula. Bombay in fact may be considered as the
key to the Persian Gulph, the Red Sea, the Mauritius, the Cape of
Good Hope, and even during that portion of the year when the
navigation of the Bay of Bengal is interrupted to China and the
Eastern Seas. A safe and rapid communication with the western
coast of India is therefore an object of the utmost consequence....

^ Survey Records, DDn. 67; p. 71.

“On the expediency of establishing one- general line of cornel?;

tion between the three Presidencies, the different lines \

naturally meet both to the east and the -west iof ®er&r:;^Suck'§
general line . should traverse the several Presidencies^ -in’Hlie^'',,
greatest dimension consistent with the avoidance- of tod.' greats
sacrifice in point of distance”. _ 5 ’-'rf

The Committee suggested two alternative routes* to: bothLMad^''/.'
and Bombay, with distances thus estimated: 'j,. ^

Ist Calcutta to

Hyderabad vta Orissa

790

miles .. r" ,*

760 ■*. ■.

Hyderabad t > Madras

310

„ to Bombay

440t

Calcutta to

Madras via Orissa &

, 1 ^

% -r

Hyderabad

1100

c' t J.

Calcutta to

Bombay via Orissa &

• > ^

V ft

1 - " 'J

Hyderabad

. . .

♦ • A

2nd Calcutta to

Hagpur via Allahabad

750

miles..

j- 75012/?

Nagpur to Hyderabad
Hyderabad to Madras

300

310

„ t?, Bombay.

1 !

Calcutta to

Madras via Nagpur &
Hyderabad

1360

•* ' /. «
.-C

Calcutta to

Bombay via Allahabad

rs-'/r,-'

& Nagpur

. ..

The whole line,

with branches, by

1st

route

iko i‘

2nd route

1360 .

Lambton replied on 30th January

1818\ pointing out

that in

U. _ •

the south peninsula “there is a part of the year when the tojistif thd-" ,,

highest moimtains are frequently concealed in fogs, either the -

whole or during the greatest part of the day. This happens deforce '
the south-west monsoon sets in, and that generally from'"' the' '•
beginning of February when the atmosphere becomes loaded' with'. .
humid vapour and assumes a hazy appearance. After the raujl;
commence the fair intervals are remarkably favourable for' obseiv- ;1
ing distant objects..., In advancing into the Nizam’s doimniops..:
excepting the months of March, April, and May, my survey, has . .
been carried on during the whole year.... The features of the, county
are uncommonly favourable. ' ‘ <

“With respect to the twoj lines of. communication,.. between
Calcutta and the other two. Presidencies,... your' reasoning as to -the
importance of Bombay in a commercial point. -of view requires- no
support from me. But whien to .these i we add* others concerning..its
consequence as a naval station,- and if. we- take. into consideration

‘ Survey Records. DDn, 63: p. 463.

■the -direct comrtiumcation with the great ■military stations in the
western ^provinces arid in the Deccan, all circumstances taken
•together must^give a decided preference to the route by Nagpur”.

The Committee wrote agairi to consult Lambton on 26th Febru-
ary 1818k “The Telegraphic survey under Captain Everest
• reached Shergatty about the middle of the -current month. His dis-
■tanceS' average nearly 91 - rhiles, but, as a -great portion of the country
bitherto'p&ssed over is covered with thick forest, that average mhy
he considered rather low, and in fact the distances between his
■stations since he has reached the open country have occasionally
heen as high as 12 and 'IS miles.

“The -survbydrs were fiirnished with the coirirriori achromatic
telescopes generally used by military men in the treriches, or in
TecOnnoitririg parties. They are from 2 feet 6 inches in length when
-diawn otit to “their ’focus, and their object glass is about 1-6 irich in
■diameter... /All of them.. .are stated to 'be irisufficierit for a -greater
•distance than 7 miles in the low woody country, and somewhat more
on the open plains....! beg the favour of your opinion as to the
-power of telescopes which... you would deem sufficient to ensure a
view of telegraphic spheres of 6 feet diameter throughout the year
•at the distances of 7, 9, 12, and 14 miles”.

Lambton replied on 6th March 1818^ that the power 'of teles-
'Cope “would be best estimated by observing at what distance
khese balls can "be clearly distinguished by the naked eye. For ins-
"tance, if 'they dan be seen at the distance of a inile sufficiently
'distinct... without the aid of a telescope, then a magnifying po-wer
•of 7 would be proper for viewing the same object a’t the distance
•of 7 miles”.

■Everest and Ferguson spent the hot weather and 'rains of 1818 at
Chunar working up maps and reports, Everest sending a full account
do Lambton^ on 1st June 1818, in which he states that through
the plains “there is a peculiar vapour in the hot weather which
.affects the atmosphere at a less height than 100 feet above the
:surface of the earth, and causes so great a divergency in the rays
-of light that telescopes of large magnifying powers are of little use,
''a:rid 'in such situations the ‘telegraphic distances have seldom been
■greater than 74 miles, whilst in the hilly tracts 18 miles has n8t
•been too great”.

On loth Sep'tember 1818 the Surveyor General wrole privately
lo the Military Secretary^' that “the duty of surveying and select-

1 Survey Records, DDU. 91;-pp. 157-9.
ib. 92; p. 39.

3 ib. 91; pp. 163-70.

't ib. 1.‘54; pp. 13-19; cf. notice 'Asiatic Journal, Xl’X; 'G8'25), p.'63'4.

ing the stations has been reported completed”. The’ Committee-
hoped to have ready “for Lord Hastings’ information on his arrival”'
all the temporary stations between Calcutta and Chunar, and that
until the telegraph was “in a state of activity from Calcutta to-
Chunar” no further extension should be put in hand. '

“It has been found by the late experiments that the mediuini
distance of the stations from Calcutta to Chunar is nearly 10 miles.'k; ^
Though it is highly probable, and almost certain, that telegraphii^
stations may be extended throughout all India... by circuitous bend-,
ings, yet it is indispensibly necessary that the stations... sho'uld be
previously sought for, examined, and after repeated trials only,,
determined, that the signals may be seen and repeated. There 'are-,
other considerations that may afterwards affect the choice..;.’'
Salubrity of air, convenience of water, markets, protection, eta’’*,
Mackenzie went on to emphasize that the actual line and its, in-
dividual stations could only be chosen by an officer specially deputed!
to go over the ground for that purpose. k

He admitted that his duties as President of the Telegraph Co'm--
mittee left “little spare time to other objects, however grateful.:!..
Had my official duties been cast in happier circumstances, I should
have felt pleasure in the pursuit of a discovery that even before-
its establishment in England was a matter of contemplation, tho’ not.
in this shape or name, with some of my early friends in India. Soj
early as 1788 a project of the kind was submitted to a Governor of
Madras (Sir Archibald Campbell)’^ for alarming the country in
case of invasion”. A yet earlier use of such signals was made 'in
1767 by Thomas Barnard to give warning of invasion of the Carna-
tic by Haidar Ali’s horsemen.® ;

Everest and Ferguson were struck off duty on “the temporary
erection of telegraphs” from 15th October 1818,® and Everest then
marched down to Hyderabad to take up his appointment under
Lambton as chief assistant in the Great Trigonometrical Survey-of
India. Ferguson was assistant on the construction of the perma-
nent towers during 1820-21, . ^

The survey, construction, and maintenance of the line of towers
cost nearly five lakhs of rupees between 1816 and 1828. It is noi
known, however, though search in the National Archives migHi
reveal, whether the towers were ever fully manned from one enii
to another of the 500 miles stretch — whether any message was evei

*Sir Archibald Campbell (1739-91), Govr. of Madras 1786-9.

^Historical Records of the Survey of India, Vol. 1, p. 311.

® N.A.I. Mil. Cons. 26 September 1818, No. 132-33; Survey Records. DDn.
133, pp. 399-400; Everest’s maps; Survey Records, MRIQ. 51(15), 81 (37-9).

transmitted — how long it took — and how far it was distorted f At
any rate, in welcoming the decision to close down the department,
the Directors recalled that they had from the first expressed great
doubt as to its practical value^.

A note on one of the last of these towers that was still standing
appeared in the Calcutta Statesman of 13th November 1939^.

^ Court Despatch, 14 November 1832, para. 70 (replying to Ben. Pub.
27 April 1830, paras. 266-291).

2 Article by Bamesh K. Ghoshal, Statesman, 13 November 1949, p. 13.

'THE OLD ENGLISH CORRESPOI<n>ENCE .IN '.THE‘>DISmiCT
COLLECTORATES OP BENGAL -

[By Tapan Kumar Bay Choul?huri]

"The class of documents known as ‘the Old English Cdrrespon-'
^ence’ in the record-offices of the district collectorates in Bengalis'
not entirely unfamiliar to persons interested in Indian historical
records. Hunter in his Bengal Ms. Records (1782-1807) utilised a .
■small fragment of this immense volume. The early statistical
:studies of the Bengal districts, e.g., Taylor’s Dacca and Glazier’s ‘
RangpuTy also made use of them. These records, of course, were,
■drawn upon more copiously in Hunter’s Statistical Account of Bengal .
and the District Gazetteers. But Firminger’s Midnapore District Re-
cords (1763 — 1770) in two volumes is practically the only work in ’-
which a fraction of these documents were published: So the old '
English correspondence as an important source of British Indian;:
History, distinct from the other records in the district collectorates,’’;
has remained practically unknown to present-day researchers.

i •

The West Bengal Regional Records Survey Committee in course-,
of its survey — work in eight district collectorates this term (1949—:
1950), was able to form some idea regarding the immense volume and ■
importance of this class of documents. They cover nearly a century '-
nnd half, extending from 1763 to 1899, As regards their quantity, I
the seven district collectorates of 24-Parganas, Nadia, Birkhum,"’
Bankura, Hugh, Burdwan and Malda are said to possess 1609 volumes ’
altogether. As the reports of the district record keepers on this score-,
were checked up in most cases, this figure may be taken as being,
more or less authentic. And to this staggering number we have to •
add that of the volumes in the possession of the Midnapore district
coUectorate. According to the Register of Records, there are 3,469);
bundles of old English correspondence in the record office of the.-'
(district. The classified list alone accounts for 1197 volumes.

These volumes in every district are of a standard size each running
into three to four hundred closely written pages, substantially bound..
But with the exception of Midnapore, no list of these volumes, let!i

Mr. Tapan Kumar Ray Chaudhury is a Lecturer in History in the Post '•
Graduuate Department of the Calcutta University and is an active worker of '
ihe West Bengal Regional Records Survey Committee.

.^ilone their contents, could be' found’ anywhere. At least in two
<iistricts; the record-ikeepers had no knowledge of even the existence
-.of these volumes' and they could be discovered only after a thorough
.and patient search. This state of affairs is due to the fact that the
, -.old English correspondence is of no use for current administrative
:purposes. So while all the other records, both current and non-
•current, are carefully preserved and listed, these volumes, so import-
;ant to the researcher, have suff ered ’ f rom an understandable negli-
,‘gence. In some cases, large parts of these papers have apparently
been destroyed. The Bankura Collectorate, for instance, has only
televen volumes in its possession, in strange contrast to the other
/collectorates mentioned above. Even where apparently there has
not- been any deliberate destruction, quite a number of volumes are
.known- to have been lost or misplaced. The surviving ones also are
.not in too good a state of preservation. Pages of many volumes have
.partly been lost or moth-eaten; oftener still, the writing inside has
■(become illegible due to the absence of proper methods of preserva-
tion. Still, fortunately, the bulk of these records is in a fairly good
estate, partly due to the quality of the paper and the binding.

These records may be broadly classified under two heads: letters
hecfeived and letters issued. The former, apparently by far the larger
in proportion, consists of letters received by the district authorities
•from the higher bodies in Calcutta and from their subordinates as
nlso of petitions filed by various parties. The second type chiefly
'Consists' of copies of letters written by the district authorities to their
superiors in Calcutta. Another principle of classification is current
dn several districts whereby the records are divided into three groups
^.according to their nature : miscellaneous or general, judicial and
■excise. This principle, however, is not everywhere in vogue. The
='old'En'glish correspondence in the 24-Parganas Collectorate are
•'Classified' under five heads: Khas Mahal, Khallery, Land Acquisi-
tion/ Settlement, Magistracy and Miscellaneous. In Midnapore, they
•are of seven varieties: general, miscellaneous, salt, settlement, excise,
'wards department and embankment. All the eleven volumes in the
'Bankura Collectorate on the other hand belong to the class known
'.as ‘general’- in the other districts.

A difficulty which faces the researcher in studying these papers,
is the manner in which they have been bound together. In most cases,
'hut' for' the broad classifications, no general principle, — chronological
■dr subject-wise, — has been applied in grouping a number of papers
■1;ogether in a volume. Thus a single volume may contain paners
•scattered over a wide stretch of time. The only relieving feature is
'i;haf all papers referring to one particular topic are to be found with-
in the same covers.

As the volume and variety of the papers obviously suggest; very-
little of their actual contents could be studied in course’^of a single- •
term. This -was more so because the chief object of- this- year’s'
survey- work was to form an over-all idea as regards the types and
volume of records of historical importance in the district coUectorates-,
of Bengal. Thus the time at our disposal being short, a ’geh%A''.:;
method was followed in studying the contents of the old Eh'glis^-fc'
correspondence. A few volumes belonging to different periods ‘wer&i;.;
picked up from each type and some of the letters contained in'
volumes thus selected were thoroughly studied. .

Such a perfunctory method, — though perhaps the best pbssibfe ’;-
under the circumstances, — surely does not authorise us to make
general statements regarding the contents of those papers.' AndVitt::;
ought to be made very clear at the outset that as regards the'matemis ;;
contained in the overwhelmingly large portion of these numerous,,:
volumes, we are still in the dark. Yet an analysis of the littie‘'we j;
have seen will be enough to convey some idea of the importance' 'of 4
this source. ■' >

Subject to the limitations mentioned above, we may make some
observations regarding the nature of these papers. Even from the ;
small fragment we studied, it may confidently be asserted that this"
little-used source is sure to yield a very considerable amount of fresh ;
data for the socio-economic and administrative history of the 18th
(latter half) and 19th centuries, Hunter, in his preoccupation with
revenue-history, ignored important aspects of the very papers- he
used. The District Gazetteers and the Statistical Account were con-
cerned more with current conditions than with past history. Even
Firminger’s volumes dealing with a small period leave out much that
is important. It appears that the ‘letters issued’ are likely to prove'
of greater value than the ‘letters received’. For the latter are
mostly in the nature of circulars or general instructions from the
authorities in Calcutta. The ‘letters issued’, with local affairs
and problems and thus afford a direct glimpse of the life of the people
almost unique in character. Among the ‘letters received’ also there
are those written by the subordinate officers in the muffassils which
are at least as important as the ‘letters issued’. But so far as we
could see, such letters are comparatively slender in volume. The
class of correspondence labelled ‘judicial’ is also comparatively less
important. For these are mostly circulars issued by the Sadr
Nizamat Adalat and so such volumes in the possession of the different
coUectorates are likely to be reproductions of the, same matter in
the main. But as these circulars often deal with affairs of importance
or with some local problem, they are not without interest for the stu-
dent of history. A large part of this immense volume, dealing -with
mere routine matters is, however, sure ip prove, useless from the
view-point of the researcher.

A detailed account of the data collected this year from the old
English correspondence will be out of place here. For such data,
have been fully discussed in the reports on the records available in
the various district collectorates which are incorporated in the-
Annual Report of the West Bengal Regional Records Survey Com-
mittee, 1949-’50. Here we slSall merely try to give some idea as to the-
various types of data found in this source by way of an indication
of what it is likely to contain.

Even the cursory study of parts of a few volumes afforded a very
clear glimpse of the actual workings of the Company’s administra--
tion in Bengal. The problems of peace and security which faced the-
administration even in the last years of the 18th and the early years,
of the 19th century are vividly reflected in some letters. In 1785,
an armed force was required -as escort for sending revenue from.
Nadia, as the ordinary harkandazes were no match for the dacoits.
The unhappy frontier district of Midnapore was subject to repeated.'
Maratha raids between 1788 and 1799. These raiders, we learn,
found a ready ally in the Raja of Mayurbhanj and the Chuars, the
latter being a perpetual threat to the peace and security of the dis-
trict. The Bankura records, going back to the early days of the 19th.i
century, refer to a similar alliance between the Chuars, other
criminal tribes and the Bishnupur Raja and to the repeated expedi-
tions necessitated by their lawless activities. In 1846, even the
Jagirdars acting as police were found to be in league with the-
dacoits. In one of these letters were found detailed statistics of the-
crimes committed in the lower provinces of Bengal during 1818-1819.

Besides the problems of peace and security, is to be noted the work:
of administrative organisation and settlement which was in progress-
during the latter half of the 18th and the earlier half of the 19th
century. One letter in the 24-Parganas Collectorate refers to the-
measurement and the preparation of a detailed statistical account
of the district. Another found in Midnapore supply similar informa-
tion in reply to a questionnaire from the Board of Revenue in 1800.
The establishment of the office of Qanungo is discussed in one letter
dated 1818.

Continuation of various elements of the older system of govern-
ment is also indicated by some of these documents. In 1795 the-
Registrar, Sadr Nizamat Adalat is found prescribing flogging and’
making of public roads, on the ground that these were punishments:
sanctioned by Islamic law. In 1796, the Qazi-ul-Quzzat is found still
functioning. In 1794, we are told, there were 400 Patwaris or village-
accountants in Birbhum. The changes which were coming over older
institutions are also reflected in some of the documents. It was
ordained, for instance, in 1796, that the Ghatwals were to be hence-
forth “considered in the light of dependent talukdars”.

The problems of revenue administration, particularly in the early
days of the post-permanent settlement peridd, feature prominently
in quite a number of these records. Burdwan in this respect appear
to have been a sort of plague-spot. In 1788, the family of Raja
Chaitan Singh of Bishnupur was put into prison for non-payment of
revenue. In Midnapore in 1799, the Raja of Kasijora organised a
furtive no-rent campaign. The following year saw extensive sales
of lands for default of revenue in the same district. High assess-
ment and fraudulent practices are described as being the chief causes
for this state of affairs.

Some of these letters throw hight on the interest taken by the
Company in the secondary functions of state. A letter from the
Committee for considering means of improving the town of Calcutta,
dated 1804, recommended the building of wide roads and the station-
ing of fire-engines in each quarter. Some records in the Bankura
Collectorate tell us of the government’s share in the maintenance of
sarais and ferries. In a letter, dated 1783, we read of a Committee of
Grain set up to regulate the sale, distribution and price of corn at a
time when a famine was raging in the Upper Provinces beyond the
Company’s domains.

Many interesting items of information regarding the judicial and
excise departments are also scattered through the letters labelled
‘Judicial Correspondence’ and ‘Excise Correspondence’ respectively.
A circular of the Sadr Nizamat, dated 1814 discourages the practice
of taking evidence through agents, which, apparently, was then very
much in favour with the trying magistrates in the districts. Another
circular, dated 1841, prohibits the practice of inscribing the names of
heathen deities on top of official communications though any inter-
ference with similar practices in case of petitions etc. from private
parties is strictly forbidden. The Government’s income from excise
duties in the early part of the 19th century alongside 'the expenses
incurred for the maintenance of ‘Abkari establishments’ is 'given
In some of these records. A letter, dated 1857, mentions the prohibi-
tion of import of sulphur by sea and authorises the seizure of such
stuff on payment of proper price.

Besides such detailed information a clear picture of the general
character of the administration during the period is presented even
by the comparatively few records we studied. Many of the
apparently useless letters, containing mere routine matters and end-
less official admonitions for the dilatory ways of the district staff, are
important from this point of view. For they constitute the most
objective evidence of the slow working of the official machinery and
of the growing menace of red-tape.

'THE MHKHBIR-I-SADIQ OF LUCKNOW

(By K. SAJANLAL*)

Last -yeHT, 1! trontributed to the Proceedings of the Indian Histori-
cal Records Commission a paper on the Kamamah of Lucknow. In
this article I propose to describe its local contemporary the
Mukhhir-i-SadiqJ The following account is based on a study of
the issues of this paper, dated 5th April 1872 to 24th December 1872.2

The Mukhbir-i-Sadiq was a weekly journal published by
l\ilr. Salamat Ali from IMohalla Golagunj, Lucknow. The contents
of its issues throw a flood of light on the activities of its contempo-
xary newspapers and provide valuable information on the educa-
tional, social and economic condition of the people during the seven-
ties of the last century . In this article we will give special atten-
tion to the references to press and education and will cursorily touch
upon the social and economic aspects, though materials on these
subjects are also available in abundance in the issues of this journal.
The Mukhhir-i-Sadiq was always a champion of freedom of the press,
snd its columns were open to all irrespective of colour or creed. It
■evinced great interest in the uplift of the people in general and
Muslims in particular; and it gave wide publicity to the appeals of
Sayyad Ahmad Khan for the establishment of Madrasat-ul-ulum.
We also come across reports about the working of a Madrasa-i-
Imamia, Canning College, Norman College, and of colleges and
schools in Bombay and Baroda.

This paper drew upon a wide range of sources, e.g., Oudh Akhbar,
Shams-ul-Akhbar, Karnamah, Nur-ul-Anwar, Koh-i-nur, Tdhzeeb-ul-
Akhlaq, The Lawrence Gazette, Jalva-i-tur, Akhbar-i-Alam, Kasim-
ul-Akhbar, Patiala Akhbar, Dabdaba-i-Sikandari, Kashf-ul- Akhbar,
Akhbar-i-Sharishta-i-Taleem, Roznamcha, Shola-i-tur, The Benares
■Gazette, . Akhbar-ul-Akhiar, Manshur-i-Muhammadi, The Mayo
Gazette, The Akhbar-i-Scientific Society, J am-i-J amshid. The Hindu
Patriot, Omdat-ul-Akhbar, Lauh-i-Mohfuz, Mufferah-ul-Qulab, The

*Mr. K. A. Sajan Lai, F.R.S.A., has distinguished himself by his original
research on topics connected with the history of Indian periodicals. He has
•collected the files of a number of important periodicals of the early 19th
■century.

1 For its description read my paper published in the Proceedings of the
Indian History Congress, Madras Session, Page 486.

am grateful to Dr. Rahatullah, Curator of the State Library for
providing me facilities to take exhaustive notes from the copies of the paper
■belonging to the State Library. Some of its issues are missing. In all there
■are 610 pages.

with the r' ' ^ „he Indian, papers made a point to be united

and tried t to win the case. A number of such instances
icould be cited, but we would give a brief resume of two such cases.

Babu Govind Raghunath Rao Tethi, the editor of The Benares
Gazette, published in the issue of 30th May 1872 a report of an inci-
dent to the effect that the police extracted a confession from an
accused in a theft case after bribing him heavily and thereafter they
.gave him a severe beating. The editor was prosecuted and the
Magistrate of Benares found the editor guilty. He was fined Rs. 1,000
or in default to undergo six months imprisonment. The poor editor
after serving 19 days imprisonment was set at liberty through inter-
cession of Sir Jung Bahadur. The Lieut. Governor, Sir William
Muir on being apprized of this case remitted the fine and issued a
warning to the magistrate and ordered that local officers should not
take action against the press without his sanction. This incident
created a feeling of bitterness between the press and the local
authorities. The journalists were jubilant when the editor was set
free and his fine was remitted. They hailed the Lieut. Governor
as the guardian angel of the press.

Another case was that of Padre Rajab Ali, missionary of Bara
Banki and Secretary of District Conference, Oudh versus Mimshi
Hanuman Parshad, Deputy Inspector of Schools which came up for
hearing before Mr. Nicholson, Asst. Commissioner. The Deputy
Inspector of Schools filed a suit of libel against Rajab Ali, claiming
Rs. 400 as damages from him. He alleged that the missionary had
made defamatory remarks against him in his article entitled What
is the aim and object of the Government in establishing Schools?”(i)
The plaintiff objected to a particular passage casting aspersions on
•his character. The reports of the examination of witnesses were
given in details in the issues of the Mukhhir-i-Sadiq. Munshi Gokid
Parshad, Babu Raghunath Rao Sahai, Pandit Mohanlal, Ammullah
Khan, Babu Tarloknath, Mouivi Sayyad Muhammad Husm, Moulv
Chirag AH, Munshi Vilayat Hussain were summoned to give evidence

in this case.

When the Prince ot Wales recovered from his iUness, Babu Kesab
Chandra Sen sent a message of congratulations to
created some controversy. The Publw “n

remarks in its columns about Babu Kesab C ..vine that

doing so. The MukhUv-i-Sadiq took this paper to f “

Kesab Chandra sen was an iUustrlous son of B™«al ™d was perfectly
justified in sending a congratulatory message o e

H^ide Shams-ul-Akhiar, dated 19th April 1872, Vol. IV, No. 2,

with the authorities, the Indian papers made a point to be united
and tried their best to win the case. A number of such instances
icould be cited, but we would give a brief resume of two such cases.

Babu Govind Raghunath Rao Tethi, the editor of The Benares
Gazette, published in the issue of 30th May 1872 a report of an inci-
dent to the effect that the police extracted a confession from an
accused in a theft case after bribing him heavily and thereafter they
gave him a severe beating. The editor was prosecuted and the
Magistrate of Benares found the editor guilty. He was fined Rs. 1,000
or in default to undergo six months imprisonment. The poor editor
after serving 19 days imprisonment was set at liberty through inter-
cession of Sir Jung Bahadur. The Lieut. Governor, Sir William
Muir on being apprized of this case remitted the fine and issued a
warning to the magistrate and ordered that local officers should not
take action against the press without his sanction. This incident
created a feeling of bitterness between the press and the local
authorities. The journalists were jubilant when the editor was set
free and his fine was remitted. They hailed the Lieut. Governor
as the guardian angel of the press.

Another case was that of Padre Rajab Ali, missionary of Bara
Banki and Secretary of District Conference, Oudh versus Munshi
Hanuman Parshad, Deputy Inspector of Schools which came up for
hearing before Mr. Nicholson, Asst. Commissioner. The Deputy
Inspector of Schools filed a suit of libel against Rajab Ali, claiming
Rs. 400 as damages from him. He alleged that the missionary had
made defamatory remarks against him in his article entitled “What
is the aim and object of the Government in establishing Schools?” (^)
The plaintiff objected to a particular passage casting aspersions on
his character. The reports of the examination of witnesses were
given in details in the issues of the Mukhbir-i-Sadiq. Munshi Gokul
Parshad, Babu Raghunath Rao Sahai, Pandit Mohanlal, Aminullah
Khan, Babu Tarloknath, Moulvi Sayyad Muhammad Husin, Moulvi
Chirag Ali, Munshi Vilayat Hussain were summoned to give evidence
in this case.

When the Prince of Wales recovered from his illness, Babu Kesab
Chandra Sen sent a message of congratulations to the Queen and it
created some controversy. The Public Opinion made disparaging
remarks in its columns about Babu Kesab Chandra Sen’s action in
doing so. The Mukhbir-i-Sadiq took this paper to task by saying that
Kesab Chandra sen was an illustrious son of Bengal and was perfectly
justified in sending a congratulatory message to the Queen.

^Vide Shams-ul-Akhhar, dated 19lh April 1872, Vol. IV, No. 2.

The paper published a detailed account of the work <6f ' SayyajiS-4
Ahmad Khan. His speeches at Benares, the scheme for!tKe;^st'ahlish^^
ment of Madrasat-ul-ulum, subscriptions and donations. eoilectdd’ifOT-^f?
this purpose and selection of the site, and other such matters ^erdix
given full publicity. The controversy as to the selection offtKo-ktel
of Madmsat-ul-ulum raged for some time. The text of Iforthbrook-sT;;
letter regarding his donation of Rs. 10,000 was also published.- If-was^
at this time that the announcement of a donation of one ahd-;a::half;^?
lac of rupees by Khawja Abdul Ghani for the installation of ..Water;!:
pipes brought forth a severe attack from the editor who sarcasticdUy !r
remarked “what! for pipes a lakh and half, and for Madrosat-ul-^W
ulum only Rs. 1,000”, The Public Opinion on the other hand/.uhderW
the caption “Charity for the Public Good”, appreciated warmiyidheW
non-sectarian spirit of the donor. , .

The establishment of Madrasa-i-Imamia and its slow proj^e^ 5 '
were given full publicity. At the first meeting donations of -.Rs'^ 5 ';.;.
per month from each of the taluqdars of Oudh were announced.,, ThisY ..
brought scathing criticism from the pen of the editor who wrpfeW
that the petty donations from the high placed dignitaries of .Oudh'?!
should make one sick and ashamed. In its columns one findsidl.^C
detailed account of the work of the Madrasa, its teachers, expenses,!;
examinations and prize distribution ceremony etc. The reports.: of,';-:
the work of Canning College, its prize distribution etc. are
be found in the Mukhbir-i-Sadiq. .

In its issue of 26th July we find the names of Indian stiidph^',;'!-:
prosecuting their studies in England along with their subjects!;an<f,f„
the colleges to which they were attached. There were T8;]sucir W
students from Bengal and 20 from other parts of the country!'. .,':.;^ ' rY;

From the account appearing in the Orndat-ul-Alchbar of Bhopii;:. I;
the Mukhbir-i-Sadiq published numbers of deaths due to chdlefW'as' v-
follows : —

Jaunpur

• »» •

3.4‘08

Allahabad

1,725

Basti

• • •

4,106

Mirzapur

3,907

Benares

»• •

344

Azamgarh

• • •

1,050

Gorakhpur

• »«

1,118

Kanpur

1,003

The statistics of mortality in the Punjab for the month of J^uaiWv.!;,
were reported to be 46,179 deaths out of a totah populatibiK^p
9,506,449 and in the words of the editor the death., rate was
thousand. ' .

We are also supplied with details about the number of Europeans
and Indian Christians carrying on their missionary work. There
were 7,480 priests, 727 churches, while the number of students study-
ing in missionary schools was 137,000 out of 270,000 followers of

' Christianity.

There are also to be found some appreciative references to the
work of the Delhi Society. Lachhmandass was requested by the
Society to translate the Rigveda in Urdu. The translation was to
be revised by Pandit Bisheshwar Nath and to be pu . ' he

Zakaullah Press. It was to be priced at Re. 1 per copy. The en-
couragement afforded to the study of oriental languages by the
government was given good publicity. From 1st April 1871 to the
end of March 1872, the award of various prizes were announced.
In all Rs. 4,200 were disbursed as awards to 25 writers and transla-
tors, lists of whose names together with the titles of the books and
the amounts of awards were published.

Even as early as 1872 the Indian press favoured prohibition. The
Bangalore excise contract was given for rupees eight lacs per year.
The editor of this journal criticised the excise policy of the Govern-
ment which according to him instead of stopping the drink evil
actively encouraged it.

Another news item gives us the information that the Maharaja
of Kashmir and Jammu, in recognition of the expert knowledge of
Babu Dev Shastri of Benares in foretelling accurately the solar
eclipse, awarded him Rs. 2,000 and a khillat.

The visit of the King of Siam, and Lord Mayo’s visit to Port Blair
and his assassination by Sher Ali were reported in a number of its
issues. A three page note appeared on Sher Ali from the pen of the
correspondent of The Friend oj India(^). Reports regarding condo-
lence meetings and resolutions passed on the death of Lord Mayo
are also to be found in its columns.

Advertisement, announcing the publications of new nev/spapers
such as the Akhhar-ul-Akhiar of Lucknow, the Tilasam-i-Kirtan of
Bangalore, The Patrika and others appeared in its issue of 13th
December, 1772. There was also published jokes and’ snippets some
of which became so popular as to be published in almost all the con-:
temporary newspapers. (*)

(*) The facts of the assassination of Lord Mayo were reported in details so
much so that at times it tallies withjames Grant's note Vide Cassells’
History of India, pp. 412-413.

A NISHAN OF MUHAMMAD AKBAR HEIR-APPARENT OP SIM-'
ALAM BAHADUR BADSHAH GHAZI

(By A. H. Nizami*)

Translation

Heir-apparent Muhammad Akbar son of Shah Alam Bahadur
Badshah Ghazi 1170.

(Seal)

The sublime and gracious firman is hereby
issued from the Royal Court out of bounty and
munificene (to the effect)

that the village of Akari ? in the sarkar of Kora of the Allahabad
subah is, as per endorsement, granted by us as an altamgha gift to
supplicating Sarab Sukh, bearer of the sacred thread (Brahmin) and
his sons and dependents, by way of an offering for the safety of the
auspicious head of His Majesty possessing the power of fate and the
rank of Solomon, and of ourselves, with effect from the autumn har-
vest of the year 1167 Fasli. The chaudhuris, qanungoes, muqaddams
and cultivators of that mahal as well as the present and the future
■officers of that place, deeming the above-mentioned village fixed as
an altamgha gift in favour of the said grantee and his sons, should
give him full possession thereof, and regarding the peshkash of
faujdari etc., such as jarimanah, zabitanah (i.e. allowances paid to
measurers and assessors) and all civil taxes and imperial dues, as
remitted and written off, they should not demand a new sanad every
year or cause inconvenience and obstruction on the score of any of
these levies, so that, spending the proceeds of the aforesaid assets
■on their necessaries, they (the grantee and his children) may, from
father to son and generation to generation, constantly busy them-
aelves in praying for the life and prosperity of the empire of His.
Majesty, the Shadow of God, and of ourselves. Compliance with
these orders is strictly enjoined. Written on the nineteenth of the
solar month of Muharram in the 6th year of royal accession.

*An Ordinary and Associate member o£ the Indian Htetorical Eecords Cora-
mission representing the Vindhya Pradesh Government, Mr. A. H. Nizami,
is also the Honorary Secretary of the Vindhya Historical Records Commission.

98 .

REVERSE

Endorsement is being written Endorsement; — Supplicating Sarab
Sukh, bearer of the sacred thread, is occupied night and day in pray-
ing for the increase of the life and prosperity of the eternal empire
and there is no source whatever of livelihood for (his) dependents.
Prays that village Akari ? may be granted, to him and his

sons, as an altamgha gift by way of an offering for the safety of the
auspicious head and that royal signature may be affixed in order to
enable His Majesty’s mutasaddis to prepare and hand over the
altamgha firman so that, making (it) the source of his livelihood,
(he) may persist in prayers for the everlasting life, prosperity and
fortune of His Imperial Majesty. Intention of the sacred signature
to the effect that the mutasaddis may hand over the sanad.

Copy received in the office of His Majesty on the nineteenth
Muharram, year 6. H.

Sealed on the nineteenth Muharram, year 6.

AKARI V.

As a result of a preliminary survey of records in Rewa Town this
Nishan of Prince Muhammad Akbar, heir-apparent of Emperor Shah.
Alam, was brought to the notice of the Baghelkhand (now Vindhya)
Historical Records Cimmission (vide Administration Report for
1947-48). The document is in the possession of Pt. Raghubir Sharan,
' son of late Pt. Balmik Prasad, Rajavaidya of His Highness Bandha-
vesh Maharaja of Rewa whose ancestor, Sarab Sukh, is the original
grantee. The grant was made in the 6th year of accession of Shah
Alam, i.e., 1765 A.D. on the 19th Muharram, bears a tughra seal of the
heir-apparent, dated 1170, and is written in good nastaliq hand
with the usual zimn on the reverse. A contact print of the docu-
ment has been acquired by the Commission.

Prince Ali Gauhar (Shah Alam) the eldest son of Emperor Alam-
gir 11, having escaped from Delhi into the Doab in May 1758, thanks
to the jealousy of his father’s domineering Wazir. Tmad-ul-Mulk,
embarked on his thirteen years of wanderings. He married a
Sayyid girl, named Mubarak Mahal at Miranpur and proceeded
through the country of Shuja-ud-daulah, the hereditary enemy of
‘Imad, to Allahabad on the invitation of the imperial governor of
the place who offered him support in the conquest of Bihar. From
here he led his first invasion of Bihar in 1759. As the siege of Patna
ended in total failure Bihar had to be evacuated and the baffled
prince arrived near Mirzapur. Maharaja A jit Sinha of Rewa invited

100

him and sent his Diwan, Lai Chain Sinha, to escort the Prince, re-.;
ceived him at Mangawan (on the Great Deccan Koad) eighteen miles ;
from the capital. Shah Alam reached Amahiya^ outside the cityi.
on 20th July 1759 and halted here for the rainy season. After .the.:
rains Shah Alam left Rewa, leaving his pregnant Begum, whom her
had recently married, to the care of the Maharaja. By way jof(,
Mirzapur and Sasaram he marched to Ghotauli where he received^
the news of his father’s murder at Delhi and on the 24th December.;
proclaimed himself Emperor. He then busied himself in preparar
tions for his second invasion of Bihar in 1760. .

According to tradition Maharaja Ajit Sinha lodged the Begum at'
Mukundpur, ten miles south of Rewa, in a house which stiE existe,
in a dilapidated condition. A son was born to the lady here on 7th
Ramzan 1173 Ht (1759) and was named Muhammad Akbar. The
'chhathi’ of the prince is still pointed out in a small room which, ds-
yet intact in the building and deserves the attention of the Depart-
ment of Archaeology. The Maharaja assigned the income of 'the
village of Mukundpur for the expenses of the baby prince and his
mother. When Shah Alam returned from his third invasion of Bihar
(1761) he sent for the mother and baby and Ajit Sinha personally
escorted them to Allahabad. Meanwhile tfle battle of Panipat had
been fought, Delhi had been cleared of the Marathas and the Durrani
conqueror had set out on his return journey after nominating Shah
Alam as Emperor and writing to him to come and occupy Delhi. So,
the Emperor started from Patna fort (12th April) at the invitation of.
Shuja-ud-daulah who undertook to escort him to his capital.' Shah
Alam invited Ajit Sinha to go to Delhi with him. The party started
up the river Ganga till they reached Jajmau near Kanpur on 23rd
July, where the Emperor went into cantonments for the rainy season.
Ajit Sinha took leave of Shah Alam there and the latter granted
him the ilaqo of Chaukhandi, revenue free. Ajit Sinha returned to
Rewa but failed to get possession of Chaukhandi. When the English
East India Company took over the district of Allahabad the Rewa
Durbar claimed possession of Chaukhandi but the claim was dis-
missed on the plea that the grant belonged to the period when the
Emperor himself was in exile (*).

From Jajmau Shah Alam, entirely moved by the leading strings
of Shuja-ud-daulah, started on 7th November 1761 for the recovery
of his dominions in Bundelkhand. In 1763 the Emperor negotiated
With the Rohillas for his installation at Delhi by a united Muslim
force but the plan broke down. In 1764 Shah Alam accompanied

^ Ta\varikh-e-Baghelkhand (Urdu) by Khan Bahadur Maulvi Rahman
^ Khan (Unpublished).

101

'Shuja to Buxar in order to assist Mir Qasim Ali Khan to recover
:Bengal. The Nawab Wazir’s crushing defeat at Buxar led to the
wniplete . prostration of Oudh at the feet of the English. The
derelict Emperor, who had been insulted by Shuja before the battle
,of Buxar and abandoned after it, took shelter with the English and
was honourably lodged by them in Allahabad fort, which they took
in his name on 11 February, (1765). By the Treaty of Allahabad,
dated 16th August, the English took the districts of Kora and
Allahabad from Shuja-ud-daulah and gave them to the Emperor for,
his maintenance with an estimated revenue of 28 lakhs a year. An
English force was posted at Allahabad for the protection of the
Emperor. The result was that the Emperor became an English pen-i
sidner and now began for Shah Alam a long period of settled life,
(1765-71) at Allahabad. He was a sovereign without a capital or any.
ruling authority, but he was saved from starvation and guarded from
attack, thanks to the English. During this uneventful period in his
iife it was impossible for him to cease hankering for a return to
Delhi, as a visible symbol of his full sovereignty. The English had
promised, as early as 1761, to escort him to Delhi, the promise had
been repeated year after year but it was never fulfilled. At last Shah
Alam made an agreement with the Marathas in 1771 to get their help
■for returning to Delhi and left the civilized comforts and regular
income so long enjoyed by his family and entourage at Allahabad for
the privations, danger and poverty of Delhi which he entered in 1772.
In 1788 Shah Alam was blinded by Ghulam Qadir Rohilla and in 1803
■was formally taken under the protection of the Company who settled
oh him a pension of Rupees one lac per year. He lived to a ripe old
:age and died in 1806.

The Maharaja of Rewa, it seems, continued to send to the Emperor
the income of the Mukundpur village for some years. According to
Rewa State records Maharaja Jaya Sinha (1809-33) put on a khillat
received from the Emperor (now Muhammad Akbar Shah 1806-37)
'on the occasion of his Rajyahhisheka. There is some correspondence
among the Moti Mahal Papers, preserved in the archives of Vindhya
Pradesh at Rewa, which shows that the last Emperor, Bahadur Shah
(-1837-58), sought the help of the Governor Gerieral of India for the
resumption of the remittance of the Mukundpur income which had
been stopped and which he claimed as a tiyul-i-shahi. As the
Governor General interceded on his behalf, Maharaja Raghuraj
Sinha (1854-80) offered to resume the remittance of the amount to
■the Emperor and there is evidence to show that the money was sent
■to the Delhi for some years till the outbreak of the Mutiny of 1857
■stopped -it for good.

These facts, for which I am indebted to local source..

=.s well documentary, besides Vol. II of Sarkar's Fall oft^Mu^al

102

Empire which has been freely drawn upon, are relevant to bur study
of the document under examination. Accbrding- to the descehd^^ Y
of Sarab Sukh who have the Nishan in their possession, Jageshwar-:>
Ram who came to Rewa with the help of his relative, Tiwari SbbKfc’^
chand, presumably during the reign of Maharaja Ajit Sinha (17554^
1809), had two sons one of whom was Sarab Sukh, the grantee in the;
present Nishan. The Tiwaris are the earliest settlers among the.
Gaur Brahmins of Rewa, and their profession has been that of Raja-i ' :
vaidyas. Jageshwar Ram was a Vyas and the earliest grant in the '
possession of his descendants is dated Samvat 1863, (1809 A, D.)
Presumably the Vyasas in 1765 were still have-nots among their
Gaur compatriots. It is very likely that young Sarab Sukh, son of
Jageshwar Ram, attended to the royal mother and baby, during their
stay under the Maharaja’s protection, as a protege of the Tiwari
Rajvaidya, who may have deputed him to officiate- for him, off and
on, during the period of delivery and confinement. Any material
reward could hardly be expected from the royal family in this period
of adversity when they themselves were dependent on services
volunteered by hosts like the vassal Maharaja and when Shah Alans
himself was away from their place of refuge. In the 6th year of
accession, when the heir-apparent had attained the age of seven,
Providence brought Shah Alam to live at Allahabad with two distr
ricts allowed by the English for his maintenance. It was a good
opportunity for the Brahmin aspirant, Sarab Sukh, to approach the
royal presence with petition in his hand and blesings in his tongue:,
His prayers met with imperial approval. To the young heir-
apparent, namesake of Akbar the Great, who differed from his
illustrious ancestor in all but the circumstances of his birth, the issue
of the Nishan must have been a pleasant task, one thing is significant
that while 1170, the date of the seal, taken as the fasli year, corres-
ponds to 1762 A.D. and the date of the issue of the Nishan is 6th
year of imperial accession-i765 A.D. the grant is to take retrospective
effect from the year 1167 /a5li-1759, the year of the prince’s birth at
Mukundpur. The grantee is thus sought to be compensated for the
period of 6 years that had elasped since the auspicious occasion of
the gift arose.

The sojourn of Shah Alam in Allahabad was so well begun for
Sarab Sukh but the pleasure turned out to be ephemeral. The pros-
pects which looked so promising, were blighted when the authorities
of the Company refused .to honour the grant of the imperial exile
as they did in the case of a similar grant in favour of Maharaja
Ajit Sinha. Thus the debt of gratitude which the imperial family
owed to the Raja and his Rajavaidya alike remained unpaid.
Sarab Sukh’s possession of -vdliage Akari in sarkar Korah (now,
Fatehpur district) was only nominal or short-lived. The tradition in

103

the family is that the possession was never obtained at all. Never-
theless the document has been preserved with meticulous care as a
token of imperial gratitude for services rendered during adversity.

PARWANA RELATING TO THE SANAD OP SARDESHMUKHl’c!
GIVEN TO SHAHU CHHATRAPATI

(By B. W. Bhat)

At the meeting of the Indian Historical Records Commission heldi;’;
at Baroda in December 1940, Dr. A. G. Pa war discussed some ori-'v"
ginal documents relating to Chauthai, Sardeshmukhi and SwarajH-
Sanads given to Shahu Chhatrapati by the Mughal Emperors.. Pour.:';
English extracts from the translations of important portions of these -
documents made by Captain Grant Duff, historian of the Marathas,'
kept in the British Museum, one letter of Balaji Vishwanath Peshwa- ^
and Yadi of Shankaraji Malhar were brought to light by Dr. Pawar J:
and his paper contained a discussion relating to these Sanads. As tbe j'.,
original sanads are still not available and there are very few chances
of discovery of these documents hereafter, any new document relat-j-'^t
ing to these Sanads will prove valuable and useful for judging the K
authenticity of important terms and conditions of the grant of these;’;'
Sanads.

In this paper I propose to notice a new document, a Parwana "
relating to the Sardeshmukhi Sanad, which so far no historical re-;:
searcher has mentioned. This Parwana is in Persian and I have .
given its free translation and have discussed some important points . .
connected with it in this paper.

Before giving a translation of this document it is necessary to
describe the procedure which seems to have been observed by the ‘
Mughal Emperors with regard to the grant of Sanads or Parmans
issued by them. Whenever any grant of village lands or other •
property was made by the Mughal Emperor to any person a Sanad •
or Farman regarding the same was prepared by an officer of the -
Imperial Court. Along with the preparation of this grant additional :•
copies of the same were prepared. Out of these one seems to have
been kept with the Imperial records; one was given to the grantee,
and the rest of the copies sent to the Deshmukh and Deshpande
Watandars of the Paragana in which the property given in grant was
situated. In case any such original Sanad is not fotmd its counter-
part prepared according the above procedure is as reliable as the
original for knowing its contents. In addition to this a Parwana
relating to the said Sanad or Parman was sent to the Deshmukh and

Mr. B. W. Bhat is the Honorary Secretary, Hajwade Sanshodhan Mandal,
Dhulia, and an Associate member of the Indian Historical .Eecords Commis-
;sion, representing that institution. -

104

105

T)khpande Watandars of the Paragana in which the property given
in'^rant was situated for their information and for being kept in their

T^brd.

The Sanad of Sardeshmukhi granted to Shahu related to the
revenues of the six Subahs of the Deccan, consequently the counter-
parts of the original Sanad of Sardeshmukhi as well as all other
dpcuihents. relating to the same were forwarded to the several
■Watandars of the Paraganas in the six Subahs of the Deccan includ-
ing Khandesh. Nandurbar Paragana formed part of the Khandesh
^iibah. It was for this reason that all documents relating to the
Swaraj Sanad were sent by Mughal Court to the Watandar Desai
family of Nandurbar Paragana. The present holder of the Desai
Watan of this Paragana has in his possession old documents of the
Hughal Emperors. According to the procedure as stated above a
Parawana relating to this Sanad was in due course sent to the Desai
ll^atandar just at the time when the Sanad of Sardeshmukhi was
•given to Shahu Chhatrapati. The head of the Watandar family to
whom ’this Parwana was sent prepared a copy of this Parwana and
kept the same in his record for his use. It is this copy upon which
this paper is based.

.,..The free translation of this document is as follows: —

."‘^‘‘Nawab Amerool Umra Bahadur Feroj Jung Sipah Sardar

Copy

-.-The Parwana bearing the seal of Kazi Muhammad Shafi dated 19
Pabiul-Awwal San 7 is to the following effect: In accordance with
the order of the Badashaha (Emperor) and in accordance with the
order of Bakshi Mulak and in accordance with the order of (Nabab
Amerool Umra Bahadur Feroj Jung Sipah Sardar) the Sardeshmukhi
•of the six Subahs of the Deccan with effect from the spring harvest
of', the current year in return for a peshkash amounting to
Rs. 1,17,19,390 and 12 annas has been given under a Kaul (agree-
ment) to Raja Shahu Chhatrapati. As soon as the order of Bada-
■shaha is received one fourth amount of this should be paid in the
Government treasury, and the remaining amount should be paid by
instalments. Raja Shahu has been given as. Rusum Rs. 10 out of
every hundred rupees. He should enjoy this privilege. He should
take care to increase the population and to guard the interest of
'Government, he should also destroy those who oppress the subjects.
If the property of anybody is looted the same should be 'given td 'hini’
and he should punish thieves. He should also maintain an efficient
•army and should ' diligently perform his duties. He should see
that the Government dues are paid in the treasury accord-’
ing to instalments and he should never wish to take anything more

106

from any one than the fixed amoimt payable to Government. Be
known to all the Deshmukhs, Deshpandes, Mukaddams owner^' ..
lands, citizens etc. that the rights of Sardeshmukhi are giVeii to vESja.
Shahu Chhatrapati.

Order of Amerooi Umra Feroj Jang Bahadur Sipah Sardar to the.
effect that one fourth of the sum of rupees one crore seventeen laci^^
nineteen thousand, three hundred ninety and annas twelve, and -the'
rest of the amount should be paid by instalments (by Shahu) ani-
that 10 per cent of this should be given to Raja Shahu as Rusum from,
the Rabbi season. And a Kararnama relating to this should be takm
from Raja Shahu Chhatrapati: — -

The Wakil of Raja Shahu agrees and executes Kararnama dated
16th Rabiul awwal 7th Julus as follows: —

For many days in the Deccan area oppression is taking place and'
the country has become desolate therefore the Sanad of Sardesh-
mukhi of the six provinces of the Deccan granting 10 per cent of the
amount as Rusum has been given. If such a Sanad is granted by the
Emperor to Raja Shahu peace will be established in the country,,
lands in villages will be brought under cultivation, thieves and
oppressors will be suppressed and the subjects will become happy.
Raja Shahu Chhatrapati agrees to do all this. Peace in the country
should be so established that travellers, merchants and others should
feel confident when travelling through the country. If the goods of
any such person are looted the same would be restored to him;.
Thieves would be punished. The responsibility of recovering'
Government revenue will be of Shahu Chhatrapati. Efficient ariny
would be maintained and diligence would be observed in rendering
of service to the Emperor. The revenue of the country has deterio-
rated and therefore nothing more than what is due would be re-
covered. Government revenue would be collected according tO'
Government rules. And therefore it is provided that the sum of
Rupees 1,17,19,390 and annas 12 would be paid in the treasury. (A
Kararnama about the acceptance of the Sardeshmukhi is executed on
behalf of Shahu Chhatrapati). Immediately on the receipt of the
order one fourth of the amount would be paid in the treasury and
the remaining 3/4 of the amount would be paid by instalments. A
Sanad for this should it is prayed be given. The portion of the
amount (3/4 of the total revenue) would be credited in the (revenue)'
accounts of the six subahs

Subah IChujasta Buniad
One crore, Seventeen lacks, nine-
teen thousand three hundred
ninety and annas twelve.

Subah Varhad one crore fifteen
lacks, twenty three thousand
iflve hundred and eight.

107

The total revenues of the Subahs 18 crores 5 lacks 18 thousand
^wo hundred and ninety four rupees and 5 annas.

In Dr, Pawar’s paper published in the Proceedings of the Indian
TEstorical Records Commission (in 1940) the names of the six subahs
,bf the Deccan are given along with the total revenue of each Subah,

' ■ The figure of the total amount of the six subahs of the Deccan
;is'also given.

In the copy of the Parwana under consideration the names of the
two.Suahs viz. Khujasta Buniad (Bijapur) and Varhad are given as
.also the figures of the revenues of these Subahs. The figures of the
total revenue of Varhad or Berar exactly tally with each other in
.both the copy of the Parwana and the figure given in Dr. Pawar's
paper. The figure of total revenue of Khujasta Buniad i.e. Bijapur
■does not tally with the figure of the total revenue of the Bijapur
province as given in Dr. Pawar’s paper. The grand total of the
revenues of the six provinces of the Deccan is given in the copy of
the Parwana as 18,05,18,294 and 5 annas. This figure as given in
.Dr, Pawar’s paper is Rs. 18,05,17,294 and 5| annas. It seems that the
person in the service of the Nandurbar Desai who copied the Parwa-
na failed to copy the names of the four Subahs which are not to be
found in the copy along with the figures of the total revenues of these
isubahs, owing to his not being able to make out the names of these
subahs. There is a mistake of one thousand rupees in the figure of
fhe. grand total of the revenues of the six provinces. This seems to
be due to oversight of the copyist. The names of the six subahs along
'•v^i'th their total revenues and the figure of the grand total .of revenues
of the six subahs are given by Dr. Pawar in a foot note and not in
the main body of the paper. In the foot note the reference given is
Br'. Mu. 26,606. It may be that in the original document reference of
Which has been made in Dr. Pawar’s paper the writer may have
.committed mistakes in giving the figures of the total revenue.

CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF A FIFTEENTH CENTURY

SUFI SAINT OF BIHAR.

[By Syed Hasan Askari]*

In 1811-12 Francis Buchanan found in the “Division of Daudnagar”'
in the Gaya Dt. “at least 500 Pirzadas who tvere mostly descended ’
fiom Mahbub Subhani (Hazrat Abdul Qadir Jilani), a saint'
buried at Baghdad” (in 571-1175). “One of the eleven sons” of this,
celebrated founder of the Qadri order of Sufis, “Abdul Keza”’
(Razzaq) was the direct ancestor of “Muhammad Qadri”, “who”, ^e-
are told by Buchanan, “came here and destroyed the infidels and was.
buried at Amja (Amjhar) where his descendants have 3 whble-
manors”. Amjhar, a village 10 miles to the north east of Daudnagar,
and some 25 miles from Palmarganj Station of E.I. Railway in Gaya:
District, is still the seat of a Khanqah — ^founded by Syed Muhammad
Qadri in the middle of the 15th century A.D. and its “Chief Pirzada”'
and “Gaddinashin” in the time of Buchanan was Shah Manzelat Ali^
who probably represented the line of one of the three sons of the-
saint. The descendants of the saint had already in the time of
Buchanan branched out into many families and are now found
spread over the Districts of Gaya, Patna, and Shahabad.® They are-
said to have been in possession of valuable manuscripts and records,
but only one of them Mouivi Syed Ahmad, Uruj Qadri, representing’
the line of Sulaiman Qadri,® a grandson of the saint and the first of -
a long line of Qazis and Naib Qazis^ since the time of Akbar down
to that of the East India Company could be persuaded to show a few

*An Associate Member of the Commission on behalf of the University of
Patna, Mr. Syed Hasan Askari has salvaged many valuable records and histori-
cal manuscripts from prU^ate custody. He is an active member of the Bihar
Regional Records Surve> Committee and a Professor of History, Goveminent
College, Patna. He is a regular contributor of papers to the annual sessions:
of the Commission.

1 This name does not occur in Bisala-i-Jawadia a Persian ms. contain-
ing genealogical tables with some incidental notices (kindly lent to the writer
by Hakim Shuaib Saheb of Phulwari). Probably the author wrote it before-
'Ruchanan,

2 A Farman of Alamgir I, dated 2nd Zihijja, 14th year of Julus, made
a mokarri grant, by way of Madad Maash, in village Muhammadnagar alias
Jogia with Dakhli of Rasulpur in Parganah Danwar of Sarkar-i-Shahabad to
the sons, dependents, adherents, fakirs and wayfarers attached to Syed Abdur
Rasul, a descendant of Mabbub Subhani. He was the son of Abdullah a
grandson of the eldest son of the saint of Amjhar.

^ See an interesting accoimt of him in Risala-i-Jaivadia. Mahzamama
with the stamp office seal of Calcutta, dated 1833 says that he was appointed'
by Akbar as Qazi of Parganas Ancha & Manorah in Aurangabad sub-division .
of Gaya district.

“ The Risala-i-Jawadia document contains a list of the various person-
ages of the family who held the offices of the Chief and Naib Qazis.

108

109

of the documents in his possession^. These include, besides a few
sanads and Firmans, some granted to the family members, others sub-
mitted to them as exhibits, a valuable Persian manuscript of 51 folios,,
entitled Manaqib-i-Muhammadi, which contains an account of the
founder of the Amjhar Khanqah and his sons and adherents, written
by Ali Sher Shirazi, one of his chief companions, only six years after
his death in 946 as is evident from a versified chronogram^ found at
the end of the manuscript. Shirazi refers to another biography of
the saint in Arabic, Tarikh-i-Husaini, by Karimuddin Husain Makki,
which, unfortunately, is no longer available. The same is the case
with Daqaiq-ul-Haqaiq^. Tahzib-ul-Quran^ or Hizhul Adiya by the
saint-founder of Amjhar and with Fatawa-i-MasudF by Amir Masud
Qadri, his grandson and a Qazi in Akbar’s days. In spite of the
many references to the miracle-working powers of the saint and
things which cater to the needs of the credulous, there is much in
Shirazi’s work of cultural and historical interest.

This manuscript of ten chapters contains much information about
the early^ life and the activities of the saint outside India and about
the various stages of his training and education, the courses of
studies he followed, the institutions where, and the savants under
whom, he studied, his habits, manners and customs, his physicaF
appearance, his dress,® his piety and zeal for Islam, his hobby for
learning and acquiring proficiency in the languages® of other peoples
and countries, and the men whom he met and who became devoted

1 By virtue of the oflBce of Qazi held by them they used to receive such,
documents and perhaps some of them could not be returned. Among them
are (i) a Farman of Shahjahan, dated 1043 granting Madad Maash lands in
Pargana Balia of Sarkar Bihar to Bibi Mah Koch, Md. Asim etc., (ii) Shah-
jahan’s farmaTi, dated 29th year Julus or 1065 addressed to Raja Jaswant
Singh regarding disputes about certain lands in Bihar with his brothers (hi &
iv) Two Sanads issued on behalf of Md. Shah (30th Julus) and Alamgir II
i6th yr.) anpointing the recipients Qazi of pargana Shahjahanpur in Bihar.

2 The* relevant lines are “Giraftam Qalam Ra Bebastam Do Lab-
^lawishtam Manaqib Ham Andar Seh Shah-Tu Az Harf-i-Fael Wa Harf-i-
iaman-Bekun Sale Tarikh Guftan Ayan”. Three times of the numerical value-
of the word shah which is 906 plus that of Mim which is 40 representing
darfzaman and Harf-i-Fael give the year.

3 Risala-i-Jawadia. Of this 6 pages in the handwriting of the saint him-
self had been kept as a treasure by Chindas, Kanungo of Manauro.

Tazkirat-al-Mumajjad.

5 A member of the family is said to be still in possession of this
mre work but he refuses to let any one consult it.

6 Born at Baghdad in 816 A.H., he had completed his education and'
become an accomplished scholar when he was only 23 years old. After
practising many austerities he began his missionary activities at the age of 27.

’ Big-bodied with sinking belly, large forehead, thin expanded eye-
brows, high nose, broad nostrils, long white beared with sprinkling of black
hair at the time of death, broad chest, average-sized fingers, eyes and ears,,
and fair complexioned.

8 4lh Chapter. Wore a latia cap sticking to the head; and white or
green in colour, with a white turban, arranged in knots and circular in form,
and a white ‘pairahan’ or long robe with shirts with a blanket (?) of black
wool round the body.

8 Chapter 6 on speech and language “During his travels wherever he-

went he lost no time in picking up the local dialects within the frontiers;

of India he was in position to speak to the Indian Mashailkhs (holy person-
ages) in their own language with correct pronunciation”.

110

to, or admirers of, him during the course of his journey from Iraq't(
India. Although these things are not devoid of interest for a sfudeni
of history and culture, lack of time and space compels the writer fc
relate only a few facts connected with the life of the saint in India

The first thing which strikes one’s notice in the manuscript is 'the
definite reference to the peaceful penetration of Islam and^c
Muslim settlements at such an early date in those parts of Ga^a
bordering on Chotanagpur, which as late as the time of Hunter “cdh
sisted of hills and jungles abounding with wild animals”^. The
manuscript was completed in 3 nights at Kutumba, mentioned in thfe
Ain, at the instance of a local resident, Hakim Munawwar, who had
welcomed and become a devotee of the saint and has been described
as “the Plato of the time and the Aristotle of the Age”. The author
had been deputed by the saint to carry on his work in the regions of
Kutum!ia and, as we learn from another source® he lies buried there.
Some other villages, inhabitated by the Muslims, including Hasipur
whose chief, Malik Qazim, was at first hostile to the 'saint and later
relented and founded a village named Mahuli after the Mahua tree,
and where the Khanquah of Shaikh Ahmad had been situated have
been mentioned. Syed Sulaiman Mashhadi, a devotee and adherent
of the saint of Amjhar died “a martyr for the sake of God” and Ms
shrine lies Navnava in Pargana Ekil, situated in subdivision of
Jahanabad, in Gaya.

It was for the sake of Islam that Syed Muhammad undertook the
arduous journey to Hindustan. Touched by the tale of woe narrated
fay a refugee from the present Aurangabad sub-division namely “the
pious and tall-statured, Shaikh Miihammad Ali, and also commanded
In a dream”, as the biographer would have us believe, Syed Darvesh,
•ihe father of Syed Muhammad, directed him to “attend to the
complaint of, and secure justice for the Indian from his oppressor^
try to bring the latter into the fold of the faith, and failing that praiy
for his overthrow and settle down in that land so that the people
thereof might find the true path through his guidance”. He was also
instructed to marry in a family of good extraction preferably in that
of Syed Ahmad Qadri who had already migrated to India. The saint
traversed with his forty companions, the whole distance from/
Baghdad to Bihar, full of hills and dales, deserts and plains, on the
back of horses and camels, within a period of 7 months and 11 days
in 846 or 1442 A.D. During the journey he passed through Qandhar®-'
and Multan,^ and also stopped for a fortnight at Surharpur in, UP.,’

1 Hunter, W. W., A Statistical Account of Bengal, Vol. XU-, p, 18. , - ,

2 Risala-i~Jawadia. ... .i'

3 The ruler of Kandhar had. already heard of the reputation of the ,

saint from Syed Nasiruddin Tabrhd and he and Shaikh Mansoor, the most"
learned man there, gave him a fitting reception. ■ i

'i He was introduced to the Sharif by ‘Makhdpom Syed Agli Siraj-ul- ;
MiUat Waddin’ one of whose three sons, Sulaiman Masfihadi, accompanied thei:
saint in his journey to India.

Ill

where he married Bibi Piyaran (a significant Indian name). He
arrived near the strong-hold- of the tyrannical Kol chief , named
Jiwan. - ■

Kols and Saiithals, Mundas and Oraons, Cheroes and Kharias, of
Chotanagpur are supposed to have been at one time the governing
tribes in different parts of Bihar. According to traditions recorded
by Buchanaii, the territory of the Kol Rajas may have at one time
extended from Baidyanath to Banaras and the English statistician
noted that much of the country in South Bihar was “dotted here and
there with rude fdrts which local tradition rightly attributed to the
Kbls of wild tribes of Central India”. He found relics of the three
great fortresses of the Kol chiefs in Kabar, Kutumba or Ramghar and
Shahabad. Ali Sher Shirazi has also added something to our know-
ledge in this respect. We are told that the place where ' the' saint
arrived and which later came to be known as Narahna was a lowland
near which a river (Raud) was flowing and it was infested with wild
beasts aiid' reptiles. Pointing to a fortifiied place which stood at the
extremity Shaikh Muhammad Ali cried out “This is the fort of' the
tyrant who practised oppression on us and made my brothers; their
wives and sons, martyrs because one of our relations had gone to
the length of entering into discussion with him and had declared that
.the idols and idolworshippers were futile and false. At this the
lord' of the fortress destroyed all our relations. I, however, managed
to survive the carnage and laid my grievances before every one but
none cared to come to my help”. The saint approached the tyrant
“whose name' was Jiwan and who belonged to the tribe called in
India Kolhia”. He said “Why did you kill the Musalmans? Do you
not feel' afraid of God the Great Avenger? It is better for you to
tread the path of peace (Islam) otherwise you will have to face
.retributibh”. The Kolhia burst out in anger “What have you got to
do- with me? Be off”. The saint returned to the wilderness of
Narahana and prayed to God for punishment. It so happened that
on account of a heavy downpour the walls of the fortress collapsed
killing Jiwan and his family under the debris. The brother of Jiwan
Kolhia named Karmoon Kolhia who had his stronghold at Dumra,
one kos from there, began the search of the saint but finding no trace
of him gave up the pursuit.

The saint continued to practise austerities in the wild and inacces-
sible regions where many a miraculous thing were- seen. During his
stay in the jungle a cowherd became a convert and 'he was “given
religious lessons in Hindvi” and was named Sadiq. He used to
supply milk ' to the saint: and his followers. One. day he saw two
brothers, -Haji Khan and Jami Khan, in a distressed condition and
lamenting over their lot - on the bank of the river. He elicited the

information from them that they were the employees of “Darya
Khan,’^ the ruler (Wali) of Bihar” who had sent them to Sasaram
to purchase a horse for him from a dealer there. The horse while
being lead across the river got accidently drowned. They felt
mightily afraid of their lord and master, Darya Khan, who they said,
was “a man of ferocious disposition”. They were brought to the
saint who taking pity on them successfully prayed to God for the
restoration of the horse but he enjoined upon them not to disclose
this affair to the Wali of Bihar lest the animal might be lost again.
They could not, however, resist the temptation of doing so with the
result that the horse ultimately died as had been foretold. But the
ruler of Bihar on knowing the whole affair became so impressed with
the saint’s miraculous powers that he sent presents in eash and kind
which were accepted. He ordered a mosque, a Khanquah, and a
mansion (koshak) to be built at the place where the incident had
taken place.

The fame of the saint spread far and wide, specially after so much
attention had been bestowed on him by the powerful ruler of Bihar,
and crowds of people began to come to him. He, therefore, directed
his followers to leave the place for a more inaccessible wilderness.
Sadiq felt astonished at this end and questioned him “O my lord? Why
are you leaving such a furnished villa?” “As he was a Hindi (Indian)
and was not so intelligent and sharpwitted as to understand the reality
of things, His Holiness replied to him also in ‘Hindvi’ only this much.
‘Na Mana Jiva Inha Na Rahna’” (my heart did not permit me to stay
here). From that time that jungle’ along with the stream came to be
named Narahna and all are now heard speaking of it as ‘Narahana’.

After some months the saint came to, and settled down at,
Amjhar. One day the Muezzin’s call to prayer having reached the
ears of Karmoon Kolhia, he enquired about it and was told that the
saint “whose pursuit he had given up largely on account of the fear
of Darya Khan, the ruler of Bihar, was likely to create such a
situation as might eventually result in the loss of the wild tracts
over which he exercised his sway”. At this he sent a body of non-
believers with orders to kill the saint and his followers but they
were struck by lightning and were either destroyed or dispersed. He
then sent his own son, Chattr, at whose orders stones were pelted at
the saint while he was engaged in his prayers and his forehead was
badly wounded. This provoked Shaikh Muhammad M ajzub so much

^ Darya Khan Luhani (Nuhani Khaskhael) of Bihar, a contemporary
of Sultan Sikandar Lodi and his son and successor, who, besides his own
province took possession of the whole country east of the Ganges and defeatea
In several engagements the troops sent against him by Sultan Ibrahim Lodi.
He died not long before the death of the Sultan at Panipat. He was succeeded
by his son, Bahar Khan, the patron of Farid Khan Sur (later Sher Shah) and
to him the rebellious chiefs in Bihar transferred their allegiance proclaiming
him king under the style of Muhammad Shah, According to the author or
Makhazan-i-Afghania Darya Khan had also proclaimed his independence and
assumed the style of sovereignty such as the reading of the Khutha and 'issuing
of coins in his own name.

113

that he managed to kill Chattr and buried him near the stream. His
men who had already lost heart ran away. This brought ; Karmoon
Kolhia himself on the scene. After some exchange of words between
him and Shaikh Hassan when the Kol Chief raised his sword to kill
the saint, as it was the will of God, he died with his own weapon.

All this, as also some other incidents such as the visit of the
saint to Hashipur at the invitation of Shaikh Ahmad, the slights and
insults shown at first and remorse and contrition eventually shown
by Malik Qazin, occurred within a year of the arrival of the saint at
Narhana for Shaikh Hassan who figured prominently in all these
affairs was sent in ' 847 to Surharpur in U.P. to fetch the newly-
wedded wife (Piyaran) of the saint. But Shaikh Hassan died at
Surharpur and was buried there. Bibi Piyaran had to be escorted
by the men of her brother, Syed Hussain. The saint observed On one
occasion, “However much I wish to live in isolation^ and retirement
so as to avoid the crowds I feel helpless before God who seems to
have ordained otherwise”. A disciple from Bengal, Shaikh .Masud,
sent a purse containing 100 gold pieces which were at once distri-
buted^ among the followers to meet their expenses and provide
clothes for them. Strange things continued to happen such as the
miraculous escape from the watery grave of Usman Khan and
Miyan Khan who were coming on boats from Shekhpura, and the
suggestions received in a dream by a learned man of Biharsharif,
named Bhikhan Bihari, to betake himself to the saint and to become
a tutor to his two sons, Jalaluddin and Muinuddin, who were born
respectively in the year 849 and 868 A.H.

The medieval age was an age of superstitions. People believed in
all sorts of abnormal things and supernatural elements. There is
nothing surprising, therefore, that we got accounts of such things in
this manuscript. But shorn of all that is unbelievable, the analytical
sketch given above contains some very valuable information about
the zeal shown by the early Muslims for the propagation of their
faith, in unknown lands infested .with wild beasts, among semi-
Hinduised local chiefs of aboriginal tribes like Kols who had thrown
up fortifications and exercised sway over rough jungles and wild
impeneterable tracts; the indifference displayed by the local Muslim
rulers to individual cases of ill-treatment of their co-religionists; and
the last but not the least, the effective method adopted by the adven-
turous Sufi preachers and missionaries to find an entrance into the
hearts of the natives by learning their language^ and communicating

^The contribution of Bihari saints towards the evolution of the mixed
language of Urdu or Hindustani was by no means negligible even before the
saint of Amjhar made India his home and the final resting place and culti-
vated the language of the indigenous population so as to make it a medium
of inter-communication and exchange of thoughts and religious beliefs. We
find the celebrated saint of Biharsharif, Makhdum Sharfuddin Yahaya Maneri
using such expressions as “Bat Shali par Sankri-Des bhala per dur”. This
occurs in his Malfuz, Maadan~ul-Maani compiled by his well known companion.
Sheikh Badra Zain Arabi in. y4'( A.H. or 1357 A.D,

114

their thoughts and beliefs through their spoken tongues. The word
Inha in the'-Hindi utterance of the saint quoted above is particularly
significant for in rural areas of Bihar it is still in use. The observa-
tion of the saint made in reply to the question put by his biographer
regarding the superiority of the Indians as linguists forms an interest-
ing reading. One may not agree with him when he says that Adam
who knew all the languages was sent down from heaven to Ceylon
(Sarandip) which is a part of India, and that the “Suhuf” (scripture)
of Adam was also in the Hindvi language" and so on and so forth:
but it is a fact admitted not only by him but by others also, notably
by the celebrated Amir Xhusru in his Masnavi, Nuhsepahr, that the
“Hindian (Indians) are capable of learning any language they like
and acquiring a command over it as if it was their mother tongue
while the same is not the case with others who feel inclined to learn
Hindvi". The references to and the names mentioned of the three
Kol chiefs and the mention of Darya Khan Luhani, the ruler of Bihar
have got their own significance.

The author of Manaqih enjoyed, like the saint of Amjhar, a fairly
long life, having performed Tawaf of Kaaba eight times with him,
accompanied him to India, and outlived him. He therefore tells us
much not only about his spiritual guide but also about his sons and
daughter and grandchildren and about the most intimate and pious
disciples such as Shaikh Hasan ‘Madani-ul-Quraishi’, Shaikh
Muhammad Majzeb, the silent, Syed Alauddin Tabriz!, Malik
Tajuddin “commonly known as khandasher^ for be was sharp ton-
gued as sword", Syed Sulaiman Mashhadi, Syed Ali Manikpuri, Syed
Shamsuddin Husaini, etc.

^The presence of such Hindi words in the Ms. is significant. The
author Ali Sher Shirazi, appears to have taken pains to learn the indigenous
language. He once said to his spiritual guide: “Of all the languages the letters
in the Indian lexicons are the largest in number and that is the reason why
non-Indians cannot pronounce all their letters as well as they do. Their
language appears to be the most difficult. However much we try, we are
unable to reach the height of eloquence in it. What is the reason”?

117

of action, to one Anyaba who was probably residing at Wai. As this
. paper is a contemporary one and gives detailed , information about
the expedition, it is worthwile to summarise it here. Its gist runs
thus : “Here is the news of the court. Panta Pradhana appeared
before Tasgaon earlier and lost one person of note on the day of the
siege. Raghuji Bhosale arrived later and encamped on the plain at
an arrows’ throw distance from him (Panta Pradhana). Yesaji
Shinde7 met Rao Pradhana secretly and promised on solemn oath to
hand over Tasgaon to him if His Majesty (Chhatrapati Shahu) would
forgive him, favour him with an interview and include him among
His Majesty’s servants. The siege, therefore, is only a pretension as
men on both the sides have begun to indulge themselves in recrea-
tion. His Majesty on hearing the news thought that he must not
allow such a capitulation as he (Yesaji Shinde) instead of seeing His
Majesty- directly wished to see him through Panta Pradhana. His
Majesty, therefore, would often advise Rao Pradhana to leave Tas-
gaon and capture Athani (Belgaum) by going thither and that His
Majesty and Raghuji Bhosale would try to capture Tasgaon. Yesaji
Shinde on his part entreated and argued with Rao Pradhana that he
had waited and held the post till his arrival and had agreed to surren-
der it after his arrival and after a promise of better prospects for
himself. He (Rao Pradhana) was thus in a fix. On the one hand
there was his promise and on the other there was the obstinacy of
His Majesty. He, therefore, began to correspond and was reluctant
to leave the place. In the meanwhile a special messenger, Daryaji
Naik came from His Majesty with express orders to pull down the
tents of Raya (Panta Pradhana) and make him leave for Athani. Rao
Pradhana, therefore, immediately despatched Mahadoba (Purahdare)
to His Majesty, who after much discussion prevailed ^’ubdh 'His
Majesty to proceed to Tasgaon. Narabava Mantri® h'ad^'al^o come
there. They held mutual consultations yesterday 'aWd dhcided^ that
Tasgaon should be occupied , by Panta Pradhana ' an^'^^ifl’thaiif '■by
Raghuji Bhosale and Rao Pratinidhi® <*') after prdb^bdfei'^-’^'^hithef.
.Tasgaon has practically fallen. The flag of Rao Pfhdfihh'5 WduMobe
.unfurled as soon as he hoists it. Raghuji Bhosale is'-'58§[vth?g'^dday
for Athani. We have sent our contingent fairly equipped? -‘Bu¥when
we met on last Sunday, Raghuji Bhosale, being ill-adViked, was
much- displeased to find that it consisted neither of a hundred horse-
men as promised nor included any tried-men and wellbred horses.
He pays the daily allowance after every five or six days; he paid

7 This person sided with Udaji Chavhan, a rebel who proved a nuisance
to Chhatrapati Shahu for a- long time and who had held Tasgaon on behalf
of Udaji Chavhan against Shahu.

® A trusted counsellor of Chhatrapati Shahu. . - '

®(a) Athani was actually captured by Pratinidhi on the 8th November
1738 A.D. (Itihasa Sangraha Information, gleaning from Sanads etc nf
Peshwa Daftar, item 39, page 29).

118

the last instalment four days back, but nothing since then. I have
accosted Nurkhan, Shahaji Kadam, Konherpanta^ and his honour
himself; but have not succeeded in getting the daily allowance. We
must make up the number by recruiting some more horsemen who
can at least maintain the air of combatants. It will be very difficult
to pull on if we do not get the daily allowance. (Here follows
various private and obscure items). Panta Pradhana has asked
Raghuji Bhosale not to recruit deserters from his camp for which
reason he is rather displeased.”

Document No. 5 is addressed to one Anya by one of his younger
relatives Bhau, who was encamping at Gaurwad (South Satara), is
dated Saturday, the 8th of Rabi II and refers to the capture of
GumaP° by Chhatrapati Shahu and Sambhaji of Kolhapur together.
Probably on the basis of the Bharatavarsha Chronology (p. 8) and
Kavyetihasa-sangraha collection of letters No. 9 (both later compil-
ations) R. B. Sardesai has ascribed this incident to 1730 in his Life
of Bajirao I (p. 159) and has dated the letter (SPD Vol. XI^ No. 8)
which refers to this incident 8 October 1730 A.D. But as before 1730
Shahu and Sambhaji never co-operated in their plans for conquests
and as document No. 1 which undoubtedly belongs to 1738 A.D. refers
to the capture of Tasgaon and Athani which happening is again
referred to in this document, I would ascribe this letter to 1738 A.D.,
though the details of dates in both these letters work out correctly
as 1730 and 1738 A.D. (SPD Vol. XI, No. 8 and document No. 5). The
date of this document, therefore, comes to 15 July 1738 A.D.

The purport of this letter runs thus; “I was sent by Swami
(Chhatrapati Shahu) to encounter Udaji Chavhan at Yelavi (Tas-
gaon, Soutk,.^atara). But as he had left for Athani, I was ordered
to fetch tjie! (;wo guns that were at Rethare Haranaksha (Walwe,
South Satar^., I have brought them here accordingly and handed
them over. ,tp,,t^e proper custodian. The royal contingents were paid
from our pyr,^q owing to which we have been reduced to a very
wretched pecuniary condition. The flag of Chhatrapati Shahu was
hoisted at Gumat on Tuesday the 4th of Rabi II. Both Shamraa and
Apaji Mane had interview with Shahu. Sambhaji insisted that both
of them should be ruthlessly cut to pieces. But the Maharaja
(Chhatrapati Shahu) allowed them to vacate the post together with
arms, combatants, non-combatants and half the store of corn. Both

* IConherpanta was the Diwan or chief secretary to Raghuji Bhosle and
the other two persons were probably the latter’s subordinates.

10 Same as Shirol (Kolhapur); Shirol is sometimes called Ghumat Shirol
or Shirol-with-the-dome, because it used to have a large domed tomb ot a
Biiapur officer named Nurkhan which Parashuram Bhau Patvardhan is saia
to have destroyed in 1779. {Bombay Gazetter, Vol. XXIV, Ko hapu ,
p. 319).

11 SPD Vol. XI, No. 8 is very similar to document No. 5 but has some
discrepancies. They are, however, only apparent and can be easily reconciiea.

119

the persons were honoured with dress and wristlets. I am not
certain but it is rumoured that Tasgaon and Athani would be the
next targets. Let the tried horsemen be sent here so that the fresh
recruits can be sent back.^^” •

I will now summarise four domuments, which though not supply-
ing altogether new information, furnish different details and are of
corroborative value.

Document No. 19 is addressed to Haibatrao Rajajna by one
Bhalachandra Jagannath from his camp at Ainapur (Athani, Belgaum)
near the Krishna river, dated the 1st of Rabi II and purports to the
following effect. “Shrimanta (Peshwa?) has encamped here for the
present but has despatched Mahadaba (Purandare) to the Karnataka
and we shall be ordered either to accompany him or remain with
Shrimanta, who intends to leave for the Ganga (Godavari). But per-
haps his honour may travel through the tract owned by Angre”.

I am not quite certain about the date of this document; but in all
probability it belongs to 1755 A.D. The exact date of the document
comes to 14 January 1755 A.D. when Balaji Bajirao, the third Peshwa,
was encamped near Ainapur.

Document No. 26 is addressed to one Shamji by one Ramachandra
Mahadeva and bears no date. But it certainly refers to the early
movements in connection with the battle of Udgir fought between
Balaji Bajirao, the third Peshwa, and the then Nizam Salabat Jang
in the beginning of 1760 A.D. It can be summarised thus: “The
army of Shrimanta (Balaji Bajirao) is at Ahmadnagar while that of
Bhausahib is at Parali Vaijanatha (Bid, Nizam state). The Mughal’s
(Nizam’s) army is at a distance of twenty villages (60 miles). Nana
Purandhare, Visaji Krishna (Binivale) and Balavantarao (Mehendale)
have been sent in advance with an army of ten thousand soldiers”.

Document No. 4 is incomplete, is addressed to Ramachandra-
panta, Moropanta and Bhanopanta by one Moro Khanderao from his
halting station at Avantika (Ujjain) and is dated the bright 2nd of
the intercalary month {Shravana). As it refers to the movements of
Marathas and Durrani troops in 1760 A.D., its exact date comes to
14 .July 1760 A.D. Its gist runs thus; “Bhausahib, Shinde, Holkar,
Pawar'and other generals have encamped at Agra, while Gilja
(Ahmadshah Durrani) has encamped on the other bank of the
Yamuna, where Madhosingh and other chiefs of Hindustan met him.
Surajmal Jat and Shuja-ud-daula had formerly sided with the
Dekkanis. But Najibkhan saw the latter and pursuaded him to join
Ahmadshah with his fifty to sixty thousand men. Thus our army is
one-third of that of the enemy; but due to good luck of Shrimanta
(the Peshwa) we are sure to win. Owing to the fracture of my arm.

I wished to return home; but according' to the suggestion of
Shrimanta to proceed to Agra, I have retraced my steps .but have

120 '

to remain here owing to the rainy season.-. I .wish to proceed to A^a>'
by Vijayadashami (19 October 1760) along) with 9 thbrs”;? ^Rajtbddei?
vol. I, Nos. 216 and 217 are very nicely corroborated by*this‘documetttr ■
'Document No. 27 is addressed to Panta Swami (Haibatrab;;
Bhavanishankar?) by Chitako Shankar and Krishnaji Ananta :4nd is'.j
dated the bright 3rd of Chaitra. As it refers to Raghuha'tharao
Peshwa’s flight to Gujarat and Haripanta Phadake's pxirsuit of him/ •
its exact date comes to 3 April 1775 A.D. It states that Haripanta^
Tatya (Phadake) is on the Ghats, Apa Balavanta (Mehendale) is .near
Navapur (West Khandesh), Dadasahib has halted at Songadh near;
Mandvi and the English have commenced peace talks with the
Marathas at Purandhar.

GIPD— L--98 Dof A— Ifl-12 — 60

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Full text of "Indian Historical Records Commission Proceedings Volume Xxvii Part Ii"

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